The Apple Life
by Aethon056
Summary: Slice of life/ Slow Sweet Romance with some adventure later on (hopefully). Human in Equestria with focus on Applejack. Leon finds himself being taken in by the Apple family while adjusting to life in Equestria.
1. Chapter 1

Update: Due to the very helpful comments of several awesome people, I've realized how much I messed up the formatting for this first chapter. I've gone through and tried to change it, making it a bit easier on the eyes. I did not change any actual content though, so there's no need to reread it.

Author's note: Before we start, I feel I should give a bit of an explanation. I have to admit that this is my first attempt ever at creative writing. I joined the MLP FIM community just a few months ago, in late 2014. I fell in love not only with the show itself, but also with all the material from the fans. Over the past few weeks, I've been itching to take part. Sadly, I have no musical talent, very minimal drawing capability, and no idea how to do video stuff. This leaves me with story writing.

My goal with this is to fill a bit of a gap that I've found in my wanderings through the internet. This is going to be "another" human in Equestria story, starting off as a slow slice of life and some romance. I hope to add some adventure later on. The only thing about this that might be considered somewhat unique is that Applejack is going to be the main interest.

Again, this is my first time with recreational story writing, so please be patient. I would love some constructive criticism. Even if you think the advice might be pretty basic, please feel free to share. I'll appreciate any possible help with improving my writing capability.

Okay, that's enough from me. Sorry for rambling on like this. On with the show!

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

Utter darkness. That's the first thing I become aware of. Am I dead? I must be dead. I was expecting death to be a bit more painful. Weird. As I start to wake a bit more, I hear something. Birds singing? That's an unexpected element of the afterlife. And… grass underneath me? I try to open my eyes, but am blinded by the smallest light. I continue to lie there, slowly trying to get my eyes used to the light. After several moments, I start to become aware of my surroundings.

Despite being so blinded, I'm actually in the shade under a medium sized tree. I try to sit up, and realize that I am incredibly sore. After the slow process of sitting up, I look around, taking in the environment. Not much to see really, just more and more trees as far as I can tell. Am I in a forest? Maybe. Well, actually, these trees seem sort of spaced apart. Also, they are all almost exactly the same height being about eight feet tall and loaded with… apples? Huh. Some kind of orchard I guess. At least that implies some sort of civilization here. Maybe I'm not dead after all.

I make it to my feet and wonder what I should do. I check myself over, finding nothing out of place. Aside from a bit of dirt, my jeans and black polo are fine. My gray and white tennis shoes are still in the same ratty condition. I pass a hand through my short (about ¾ of an inch) light brown hair. Yep, I'm still my 6'2", pale, slightly pudgy self. What to do next?

No point hanging around here, I suppose. As I start to walk in a random direction, I try to think back. The last thing I remember is going to bed after a normal evening. Hmm, a dream perhaps? I've never had a dream like this though, one that feels so real while at the time being like nothing I've ever experienced. It's hard to describe, but this place just seems more…colorful? Cheery? I don't know. The air is cleaner than I've ever smelled it too, with just the smell of grass and some type of flowery scent wafting on the breeze.

I decide to see if I can wake myself. I close my eyes and pinch myself, hard. Hmm, nope, still here. Then again, I've never really been sure the whole "pinch yourself to wake up" thing actually works. I reach up and pick an apple off a nearby tree. Feels real. After checking it over and giving it a quick shine, I take a bite. Tastes real too. I'm just not sure what to think here, except that this is possibly the best tasting apple I've ever had.

I continue walking, finishing off the apple and discarding the core. After about fifteen minutes, I start to hear something. About every sixty seconds, there is a faint bang, followed by several quieter impacts. I pause to consider whether I should approach, but quickly decide that I should, seeing as how I have no idea where I am or what is going on.

As I wander toward the sound, I call out, "Hello! Is anyone there? I could really use some help!" After a couple seconds, the answer rings out, "Over here!" The voice is that of a young woman. She sounds pleasant, with a bit of a southern accent. I continue approaching where the sounds were coming from to find a bit of a surprise.

As the trees start to clear a bit, I see small horse looking at me. She's about three and a half feet tall, with a sandy mane and tail, bright orange coat, and green eyes. Both the mane and tail are tied into… pony tails? Almost as strange as the coat color is the fact that she has a hat on, a brown Stetson. She is staring at me with a look that one would almost think was shock. I look around, but aside from a several partially filled baskets of apples, there's no sign of the woman I had heard. I approach the horse and drop to one knee while petting her mane.

Still glancing around, I absent mindedly say to the animal, "Hey there, cutie, where did your friend go?"

To my surprise, I hear an answer, "Well, uh, actually, I'm by myself. Who are you?"

I freeze, and my eyes grow big. I slowly look back to the horse: "Did you just speak?"

"Um, yeah?" she answers with a confused expression.

"That's what I thought." I slowly nod, but as I try to stop nodding, the world continues to bob. Then it starts to spin, and everything fades to black.

The next sensation I feel is familiar. Waking up in a comfortable bed. With my eyes still closed, I begin to stretch, just like I do every morning. 'Man,' I think to myself, 'that was one weird dream. Pleasant up until the animals starting talking, though.' As I start to consider what I have going on today, I notice several things. This does not feel like my comforter, being a bit thicker and scratchier. Also, this bed is too short, with my legs sticking off the edge about ten inches.

My eyes snap open as I realize that this is not my room at all. I sit upright and swing my legs around, next noticing that my shoes are in the corner. The room is rather bare, with an old dresser, a small closet, and a single window. Aside from the bed and dresser, there's no other furniture. I stand up and approach the window, which is a good bit lower than I am used to. I notice that I'm on the second floor of what seems to be a ranch style home. Outside, I see those apples trees again and groan. It wasn't a dream, I'm still here… wherever "here" is.

At this point, I notice the faint sound of voices. I step over closer to the door, and hear what seems to be several people talking somewhere on the first floor, with one of the voices sounding somewhat familiar. I sit back down on the bed and put my head in my hands, wondering what's going on. I don't notice that the voices have gone quiet. I do however hear the footsteps (or hoofsteps?) approaching the room. As the door opens, I'm somewhat surprised again, although not as much as before, considering how this day has been going.

Standing in the doorway is another small horse. However, the height seems to be the only similarity to the one I saw earlier. This horse has a light yellow coat, long flowing pink mane and tail, and teal eyes. What's really shocking though is the fact that she has wings. Yes, wings. They are folded up at her sides, but they are unmistakable. As freaky as this is, I have to admit that my first thought was, 'How on earth did it turn the door knob?' As she starts to speak, I'm again feeling somewhat panicked, but at least I am not passing out.

"Hello there. Are you alright?" she says with a calm smile on her face, speaking as if to a small, easily frightened animal.

I just stare at her for a few seconds while trying to slow my breathing. Eventually, "Um ye-yeah, I'm just great…"

Her smile broadens a little. "That's good to hear. My name is Fluttershy. My friend Applejack asked me to come and help out with a strange creature that had collapsed out here. What's your name?" She is speaking very quietly still.

As weird as the situation is, I have to say that her adorable smile and soothing voice are really helping me to calm down. "My n-name is… Leon. Leon Jefferson. It's, um… it's good to meet you, Fluttershy."

She gives a small nod as she responds, "It's a pleasure to meet you as well. If you don't mind my asking, what happened to you out there? Applejack said that you greeted her and then fainted."

Scratching the back of my neck, I try to figure how to say this, "Well, it's just…um… you can talk."

She raises one eyebrow at that, "Yes? Is there something strange about that?"

Man, this is weird. "Yeah. The, uh, horses where I'm from can't talk. Although I guess you're not really a horse with those wings. What do you call yourself?"

She glances back at her wings before continuing, "Um, well, I'm actually a Pegasus, or a flying pony. We don't really use the term 'horse.' We generally prefer the term 'Pony' to refer to anypony here, whether they be pegasus, unicorn, or earth pony. What do you call… whatever you are? If you don't mind me asking, that is."

'Did she just say unicorn?' I wonder to myself. "No it's fine. I'm called a human, or homo sapien…"

"Hmm, I've never heard of such an animal before. And you mentioned that there are ponies where you're from. Where is that, exactly?"

And so the conversation continues. I try to describe where I am from and how humans are the only sentient species there. She then explained to me that, yes everyone here is typically some kind of pony, though there are several other sentient races. She also explains that I am in a kingdom called "Equestria," specifically at a farm just outside a town called Ponyville. After chatting for a few minutes, there is a knock at the door. "Fluttershy, is everything going alright in there?"

Fluttershy walks over and opens the door, revealing two other horses, er, ponies waiting there. One is the same orange one I'd seen outside, and the other is a larger, stronger looking one with red fur and light orange mane. Fluttershy nods and answers, "Oh yes, Applejack, he's doing much better now."

The larger pony glances between Fluttershy and myself before quietly asking her, "So it, erm, doesn't seem dangerous to you?"

"Defintely not," she answered, "He actually seems sort of afraid. His name is Leon, and he's new to, uh, this world."

The orange pony raises one eyebrow at this, having an expression somewhere between surprise and confusion, "New to the world? Well tarnation, where is he from? How did he get here?"

Fluttershy glances back at me before responding, "Why don't you just ask him yourself?"

The orange pony looks over to me with a look of embarrassment as she rubs the back of her head with one hoof, "Whoops, sorry, didn't mean to talk about you like you weren't here and all…"

I just nod to her and force a smile, "It's alright. I'm sure this is probably just as strange for you as it is for me. To answer at least your first question, I'm from a place called earth, where beings such as myself are the ones that run everything. As for how I got here, I really don't know. I just woke up here earlier today without a clue. I'm not sure why I'm here, where to go or what to do."

With a slight shake of her head, "You poor thing. Well, you don't need to worry about where to go. You can bunk here as long as you need to. Right, Big Mac?"

"Eeyup. We'd never turn down a pony in need of help," the larger pony says with his ever present neutral expression.

"That's so kind of you, thank you very much. I promise I'll find a way to make it up to you, Miss… um…" I realize now that these two have taken me into their home and I don't even know their names.

"Applejack's the name. This here is my brother, Big Macintosh, or Big Mac if you please. And don't you worry none about returning the favor, it's the least we can do. Now, how about tomorrow, you and I go into town to speak to a well informed friend of mine. If anyone would know how to help you, it'd be Twilight, I'm sure," she says, gaining a nod of agreement from Fluttershy.

"Thank you Miss Applejack, I really appreciate that." I reply with the beginnings of a sincere smile.

"Think nothing of it. Now how's about we get you something to eat and then you can get some shut eye. You probably need it after the rough day you've had," she says as she starts to turn back out to the hall.

"Sounds great," I answer.

As she and her brother walk out, Fluttershy turns to face me again. "Well Leon, I'm glad that you are being taken care of. It's time for me to get going, I think."

"You're leaving!?, But… I…" I'm not sure what I wanted to say or even why this bothered me so much. I guess it's because Fluttershy is the closest thing I have to a friend in this world so far.

Her expression changes to one of understanding. "It's okay, Leon. You can trust these ponies. They are some of the most hospitable ponies I've ever met. Actually, Applejack has been one of my best friends for years now. Of course, we'll be seeing each other again. I'll probably see you around town, and I tend to visit here often."

I'm still a bit worried to see her go, "Oh, okay then. Well, bye Fluttershy, and thank you for making me feel welcome here."

At this, she takes a few steps toward me and hops up on her hind legs to wrap me in a hug. I'm both surprised that she is capable of this and by how comforting it is. After a couple seconds, she lets go and turns to leave, just after giving me one more encouraging smile.

Finally alone, I lay back across the bed with my legs hanging off the side. I can't believe this day. In the back of my mind, I'm still hoping that it is some kind of dream or hallucination, but I know it's not. As I think over the possibilities of this new world and wonder about what's going on back home, I start to doze off. Just before I completely nod off, my last random thought is, 'what on earth is the difference between a horse and pony?'

Waking up again, this time in a very uncomfortable position, as I have my legs still strewn over the side of the bed. I stretch a bit and realize that it's now dark outside. 'Hmm, sleeping in the middle of the day was probably not good for my sleep schedule,' I think to myself as I begin to wonder how long I was out after fainting earlier. I begin to stretch out fully before sitting up and rubbing my eyes.

I stumble over toward the door in the semi darkness, looking for a light switch. I find it and activate the soft white bulb located in the middle of the ceiling. After a quick glance over the room again, I notice something new. On top of the dresser are a plate and a glass of water. The plate holds a sandwich and an apple. The sandwich seems to be spinach, lettuce, some type of light salad dressing, and… daisies? Hmm, that's weird. The apple is a red delicious, which lives up to its name as much as the one I had out in the orchard. I start to slowly eat and drink while looking out the window. The flowers turn out to taste okay, surprisingly.

As I look out the window, I realize two things. One, that this is the first time I've been somewhere with this kind of true darkness, lacking any light pollution from nearby towns or cities. Second is that the sky is absolutely amazing, with millions of stars and the brightest, largest moon I've ever seen. 'Well,' I think to myself, 'This is not exactly earth. Maybe the moon here rotates closer to the planet? Or maybe it's just much bigger.' I finish the meal and drink and then set the dishes back on top of the dresser before sitting back down on the side of the bed to continue looking out the window and thinking.

After a while of looking on the beautiful nature outside, I realize that I actually… well… need to answer a call from nature, so to speak. I step out into the hall and look around. It seems my room is the last one at the end of the hall. To my left are four more doors, two on each side. There is also a door right across from mine, and to my right there is a hatch in the ceiling, the type you typically see as an access to an attic with a bit of rope hanging down. I don't want to wake anyone, but I really do need to find a restroom.

I take one step across the hall and put my ear near the door to listen. I hear the faint sounds of deep breathing from within, indicating someone is asleep. I walk left down the hall and lean in to listen to the room on my right. From this one I hear loud snoring. Hmm. As I'm about to check the room across from here, or the door next to mine, I notice that the next door down on the right has light shining under the frame. Thinking that it's either someone still awake or maybe just the restroom light left on, I walk over to it and knock.

"Come on in," is the answer I get. It sounds like another girl, but much younger than Applejack. Somewhat hesitant to intrude on someone I have not met, I open the door just a crack and say, "Um, excuse me?" I hear several hoofsteps before the door is suddenly pulled open.

Before me stands the absolutely most adorable little creature I've seen so far. I thought the ponies I'd already met were small, but this one was downright tiny, being the size of a large cat. So, being a very young horse or pony… I guess I would call her a filly? I'll have to ask someone at some point on that. Anyway, the filly before me has yellow fur, bright red wavy mane and tail, and hazel eyes. As if this were not cute enough, she was also wearing a large pink bow in her mane. Resisting the urge to utter a long "Dawwww…." at her cuteness, I bend down to one knee and say to her, "Hello there, what's your name?"

She gazes up at me for a few seconds, before smiling and responding (speaking rather quickly while she is at it)," Oh, oh! You must be the hoo-min my big sis was telling me about. Your name is Leon or something, right? Mine's Applebloom! I have so many questions for you! How old are you? Why are you so tall? How'd you get here? Do you have any brothers and sisters? Are you married? What's your favorite snack? Are you..." She went on in a flurry for a few seconds before she paused to breathe, leaving me in a bit of a daze.

Applebloom, huh? I'm starting to notice a pattern here. I focus back down on the adorable filly and try to answer a few of her questions, at least the easier ones that I remember from her torrent a moment before. "Well, Applebloom, it's good to meet you. Yes, my name is Leon, and my kind would be called a HUMAN, with an 'a'. Um, I'm 19 years old, a very young adult for my people. I have one younger brother, I've never been in a serious relationship, and my favorite snack would have to be… ice cream, I think." I reach down and ruffle her mane, to which she responds with a high pitched giggle. Seriously, can she get any cuter?

"Applebloom, I actually have a favor to ask. Would you mind directing me to the restroom? That's what I was looking for when I knocked."

"Why sure!" she responds. "It's just across the hall, one door down, right next to the guest room. Well, I guess it's your room now. Across from me is Big Mac's room, next door is Granny's, and at the end is my Sis's room."

I give her a big smile, "Thanks Applebloom. If you'll please excuse me." As I stand up, she gives a quick giggle and walks back into her room. I walk down to the restroom and… well, you know. Answer that call from earlier. After finishing my business and washing my hands, I step back out into the hall. Looking around, I notice that Applbloom's room is the only one with a light on besides mine. I walk down the hall and knock again before slowly opening the door. "Hey, Applebloom, I've got to ask. Why are you still up? It seems pretty late."

She looks up from her book with a sheepish grin, "Well, I was just reading a story. Um, I was sort of, kind of supposed to have already gone to bed. Hehe."

I smile at this, "Well, I'm sure that a growing young lady such as yourself needs her rest. Although I certainly understand being unable to put down a good book."

With another giggle, she responds, "Yeah, it's a good adventure story. Don't worry, I was just about to go to sleep." With that, she hops off the bed and carries the book over to a bookshelf I had not seen before, as it was positioned behind the door. It has several shelves and was fairly full.

Upon seeing the books, I say, "Whoa, that's a pretty decent collection there. Say, you wouldn't happen to have any kind of books about this world, would you? Like history, specifically?"

"Of course!" she answers, "Would you like to borrow my school history book? It's from last year, so I don't need it anymore. You can borrow it as long you like."

"Thank you 'Bloom, this will be a great help. I'd like to know a bit more about Equestria, and this'll be a good start. Reading always helps me fall asleep too," I say as I gratefully accept the book from her.

"Oh yeah, anytime Leon! But you know…" she says with a smile, "You shouldn't stay up reading too late. I'm sure that a growin' stallion such as yourself needs his rest."

I give her a big grin, "You know, that's pretty good advice 'Bloom. I'll keep it in mind." I bend down to pet her mane and elicit another giggle. "Goodnight Applebloom, and thanks again for the book."

As I turn to leave, I hear, "Goodnight, Leon!" I walk back to my room and lay out on the bed. Contrary to Applebloom's sagely advice, I do stay up for a while reading. I have to say, it's certainly weird reading about unicorns, pegasi, and magic in a history book. Of course, I guess it would also be weird to wake up in a world of technicolor talking horses… ponies.

As I'm nearing the end of the section about ancient history, ending with the reign of Chancellor Pudding Head, I start to feel a bit weary again. Placing the book just underneath the bed, I strip to my boxers and crawl under the covers. Hoping to get at least a few more hours of sleep before morning, I try to relax. I think about how weird it is that just 24 hours after arriving here, I'm fairly comfortable with the idea of talking animals and have even become friends with a couple of them.

I'm not sure what to think of Applejack and her brother, since I did not exactly get to speak to either of them much. However, if they are anything like Fluttershy and Applebloom, I think we'll be getting along in no time. With a comfortable smile on my face, I slowly drift off.

Whoo, okay, there it is. Please let me know what you think and share any tips or advice. At this point I have about 25,000 words already typed up, so there will definitely be more posted at some eventally. However, I can't say for certain how long this will be in its entirety. While I don't foresee myself quitting this story any time soon, again this is a first for me, so who knows.

Please review, and to all bronies out there, stay awesome!


	2. Chapter 2

Author's note:

Here it is, chapter two. Leon starts getting used to his situation and meets some new faces. This one is a good bit longer, and I'm more pleased with it than chapter one. I hope you enjoy, and again, please feel free to share some contructive criticism. I'll appreciate it.

On that note, to Prophet21real, thanks for your review. I see what you mean, and I'm not sure how I missed it. I'll try to correct it for future chapters.

Chapter 2:

I awake to the sound of my door being thrown open, and then something jumping on my chest. "Wake up, Leon, wake up! It's time for breakfast!" I hear from a familiar little voice. Not being much of a morning person, I groan, "Ughwahh…. Sleepy…Ten more minutes…"

She giggles at this, and says, "No no no, you've gotta start your day bright and early. So wake up!" She hops on my chest a couple more times before someone else walks in.

"Applebloom, that's no way to treat a guest, especially after the kind of day he had yesterday. Why don't you run along and get your things ready for school?" Sounds like Applejack. 'Bloom responds with, "Okay, Sis," before hopping to the floor and walking out of the room. Good, now maybe I can go back to sleep. Nope.

I hear hoofs clopping over as Applejack stands next to my bed. "She's right, you know. It'd probably be good to get up and grab some breakfast before we head to town."

I roll over, open one eye, and sigh. "Yeah, yeah, you're both righ. I'll get up. I have to admit, though, she's not a bad way to wake up in the morning. She's a real cutie, you know."

Applejack chuckles at that, crossing her legs and smirking. "A cutie, huh? Do you just say that to every mare you meet?"

I have to think for a few seconds before I realize what she is talking about. I sit up real quick, suddenly quite awake. "Oh my gosh, when we met yesterday, I…I… Ah! I didn't mean it like that, I just thought you were a cute horse! Well, you are a cute horse, I mean pony, whatever. I wasn't trying to flirt or anything, I just didn't know you would understand me!"

At this point she is just totally breaking up with laughter, "It's alright, sugarcube, I was just joshing with you. I understand what you meant." She chuckles again before finally calming herself. "Okay, seriously, now that you're awake, head on downstairs soon for breakfast. You and I'll head out after that to visit that friend of mine." With that, she walks out of the room, chuckling again.

Man, that was embarrassing. She's right, I'm certainly awake now. I get dressed again, and think of how this is going to get somewhat unsanitary having only one set of clothes to wear. Maybe we can take care of that while in town, although I doubt that any pony stores'll carry anything I can use. Oh well. I stop off at the restroom to wash my face, and then I head downstairs.

The house is filled with a heavenly aroma as I approach the dining room. Mmm, pancakes. I take a seat at the table, where Big Mac and Applebloom are already waiting. Mac nods to me, and 'Bloom flashes a big grin. A few seconds later, Applejack enters from what I assume is the kitchen, balancing a large platter of pancakes on her head. She seems pretty dexterous to be ambling along with all that. She's followed by another pony that I've not seen before. This is another mare, though unmistakably older than Applejack or Fluttershy, judging from her slow gait, white mane, and slight wrinkles. Despite her age, her fur is a vibrant lime green. She's also balancing a platter on her head, though this one seems to be filled with toppings and fruit.

As she approaches, she deftly slides the platter onto the table, and then greets me, "Well howdy there sonny! You must be this Lenin fella my granddaughter has been going on about."

Applebloom interjects here, "Granny, it's Leon, not Lenin! Leon, this is my Granny Smith."

Granny smiles at me as everyone starts to serve themselves, "Right, right, beggin' your pardon there. Little Applebloom's been telling me all about ya. She failed to mention how handsome you are, though." Everyone except Granny and Big Mac starts to cough on something at that comment. I am torn between being flattered or a little creeped out. She continues on as if nothing happened, "So I hear you just fell out of the sky yesterday?"

I finish clearing my throat before answering, "Something like that. I'm not really sure what happened or how I got here. From what I understand, Miss Applejack seems to think there is a pony near here that can help me out."

Applejack answers here, "Yes, Granny, I'm gonna be taking him into town to see Twilight. If anypony knows what happened to Leon here, it'll be her."

Granny nods in agreement, "Quite so, darlin'. Now don't forget to take some extra bits with you pick up a few of the necessities for him."

I bow my head a bit and smile, "Thank you for your generosity. I really appreciate all that you and your family are doing for me."

"Not at all, deary," she answered, "any friend of my granddaughter's is a friend of mine."

We continue eating, making idle conversation, mostly consisting of questions about myself of course. After finishing the meal, we gather up the dishes, Granny insisting that she'll take care of them and shooing me out. As I walk back to the main hall, I hear Applejack talking to Big Mac. "You sure you'll be fine making the delivery and working the stall today, Mac?"

"Eeyup," came the reply, before he nods to me and heads out the door.

AJ turns to me and smiles, "You ready to get goin'?"

"Eeyup," I echo, drawing a giggle from behind me. I look around to see 'Bloom rushing down the stairs with some kind of bag strewn over her back. It looks like two pouches connected by a strap that goes over her abdomen. "Where are you headed to, 'Bloom?"

"School, of course," comes the enthusiastic reply, "Since you two are going into town today, I was wondering if you'd mind walking with me? At least most of the way."

"Not at all, little sis," answers AJ.

I smile and get down to one knee to answer as well, "It'd be my pleasure, 'Bloom. In fact, would you like a ride?" She looks confused for a second, but then giggles as I carefully pick her up. I sling her saddlebag over one shoulder, and using both hands slowly bring her up behind my head. I hold her rear legs securely and she wraps her forelegs around the top of my head. I stand back up straight, and as expected, 'Bloom squeals with joy. "Wow, Leon, you can see everything from up here!"

I chuckle and turn to the front door. I notice AJ beaming at me, before she quickly turns around toward the exit as well. "Reckon we should get going. Don't want Applebloom to be late for class, do we?"

We head out the door and down the path leading off the property. As we leave, I see Big Mac carrying two large baskets of apples toward a cart. As we pass, 'Bloom waves to him and yells, "See ya later, Big Mac!" He gives an almost imperceptible grin before waving back, no doubt happy to see his little sister so enjoying the ride.

As we start down the path, I get a better look around the property. The apple trees just seem to go on forever. I also see a large, stereotypically red and white barn, with several smaller buildings nearby. I've yet to see anyone else working here, so I wonder how exactly they are able to maintain all this. Breaking the momentary silence, I ask Applejack about it. "Excuse me, Miss Applejack, but where exactly are your workers? I thought farms usually started up at dawn."

She looks around at the farm while answering, "Well, actually, it's mostly just my brother and me that do the work around here now. Granny does most of the cookin', but she can't help out in the fields anymore."

Seriously, just the two of them tend all this land? "Wow, that's impressive, I mean the fact that you and your family take care of all these trees by yourselves. Actually, do you grow anything else around here, or is it just the apples?"

She looks over to me while continuing down the path next to Bloom and myself, "Nah, there's more. We do grow some corn and celery as well, and we keep some chickens and cattle. Although the apples are definitely our bread and butter, so to speak. It IS called Sweet Apple Acres for a reason, you know."

"No kidding," I mumble to myself. Sweet Apple Acres, Applejack, Big Macintosh, Applebloom, Granny Smith. AJ's even got apples tattooed on her…rump? Flank? Let's go with flank. Now that I think about it, they all do. AJ has three red apples, Big Mac has a green one, Granny has what could only be an apple pie. However, Applebloom doesn't have a tattoo, which makes me wonder if it some kind of coming of age ceremony thing.

While I'm pondering this, AJ turns and sees me staring at her tattoo. "Uh, what you lookin' at there, sugarcube?"

Realizing that this could be taken the wrong way, I quickly explain, "J-just your tattoo. I was wondering why you all have food products tattooed on your… backs."

She looks confused at this, "Huh? What's a tattoo?" she turns her head as far as she can, I guess trying to see if there is something on her.

"Um, I mean that," I say, pointing to the apple image.

She realizes what I'm asking about and answers, "Oh, that's my cutie mark. Ain't you ever seen one before?"

"Uh, I'm not sure, I guess. What exactly is a cutie mark?" And who on earth would want to call it that?

At this, 'Bloom leans forward until her eyes are almost right in front of mine, with her mane hanging down in front of me. "A cutie mark is a symbol of a pony's special talent! It shows up when they realize what makes them different from everypony else!"

AJ nods at this, "Yep, pretty much. For example, mine appeared when I realized that I wanted to work the family farm. So is it safe to say you don't have a cutie mark?"

"Um, no, definitely not. Humans don't get anything like that, as far as I know." Sounds kind of strange to me actually. A picture that represents what you are supposed to do? Located on your butt?

Applebloom leans forward to look me in the eyes again, "But if you don't get a cutie mark, how do you know what your special talent is?"

I have to think for a second on that. "Well, humans tend to just figure things out as they go through life. We try many things when we're young to see what we are interested in. When we find something, we just try to get better at it. If it doesn't work out we move onto the next idea."

I should have been able to guess what 'Bloom's next question would be. "So what do you do? Have you figured out your talent?"

"Um, not really," I mumble, "I'm at the point in life where I'm just starting to figure out how to live on my own. I started college classes last year, but I still have not picked a major."

They both look a bit puzzled at that, but I guess I got my point across considering the little filly's next question, "So if you're still looking for your talent, would you like to join my friends and I in our secret society? Our goal is to find out who we are and earn our cutie marks!"

"Wait, if it's a secret society, why are you telling me about it? Doesn't that make it not a secret?" I glance over to AJ who smirks at this.

"Well, uh, um…." 'Bloom seems to be considering this, but her sister gives an answer, "I think what Applebloom here means is that if you are in on the secret, then now you HAVE to join. Right, sis?"

"Yeah, what she said!" cheers 'Bloom in agreement.

I have to chuckle at that. "Guess I can't argue with that logic. Sure 'Bloom, I'll join your secret society. Does it have a name anyway?"

She points one hoof up into the air and yells out, "We're the Cutie Mark Crusaders, and we're on a crusade for our cutie marks!" I get quite a laugh out of their not quite so clever slogan.

By this time, we have reached the outskirts of what I assume is Ponyville. Sure enough, there are ponies everywhere. They come in all sorts of bright, crazy color combinations, and they all have their own unique marks. I see them going about seemingly human tasks, just like what I've seen with the apple family.

There are many simple looking houses and small stores. The main street is also lined with small stalls, where ponies are selling many types of things, but mostly produce. We pass a larger building near the center of town that must be some kind of meeting place, considering its size.

I should also mention, that the whole time we're walking through town and I'm gawking at everything, the ponies are also gawking at me. A few look worried or frightened, but most just look awestruck or curious. A few point as they whisper to those around them. I can't honestly say that I like being the center of attention, especially like this.

As we approach a corner near a store that seems to be advertising sofas and… feathers?... Applebloom speaks up, "I guess this is my stop. My school's just a couple blocks over that way. The bell's probably gonna be ringing soon."

"All right then," I say as I reach up and carefully start bringing her down. Just as I start to bend my knees though, she wraps her little forelegs around my waist as best she can, hugging me. While I am surprised by this, I certainly welcome it. Still holding her in one arm, I bring the other around and place my hand on her back. After a couple of seconds, I place her on the ground and pass her bag to her.

"Thanks for walking with me! Well, I guess for carrying me actually. Anyway, I'll see y'all later!" With that, she takes off down the street, mane flapping in the wind.

I turn around to face AJ, "Miss Applejack, your sister is so sweet that she's going to give me diabetes."

"Dia-what-now?" Ah, right, I've no idea if ponies can get that. Shaking my head, I reply, "Uh, nothing. She's just very sweet."

"She sure is. I can't tell you how glad I am to see the way you get along with her." She says this while looking at me out of the corner of her eye and wearing a smile. "I reckon we best be getting a move onto Twilight's place. By the by, you really don't need to use the honorifics with me. Just 'Applejack' is fine." With that, she starts walking down the road again.

"Okay…Applejack… I'll try to keep that in-" BAM!

Just as I start to follow her, something crashes into me from behind, sending me sprawling to the ground. There's a dull ache in my back where the impact was, but I also feel a weird pressure in the back of my skull. As I start to focus on what's going on around me, I hear someone trying to apologize.

"Sorrysorryosorrysorry! I was going fast trying to make a sonic rainboom, but I lost control and couldn't pull up in time! I'm so sorry, are you alright?" I look up to see who's apologizing, and it's a Pegasus floating just in front of me. She has by far the craziest color scheme I've seen yet. While her coat is a bright sky blue, her mane and tail are just… everything. They literally contain all the colors of the rainbow. Her cutie mark seems to be some kind of cloud shooting off a multicolored lightning bolt. That seems appropriate. Her eyes are a bright majenta.

I'm about to reply, when AJ jumps in. "Rainbow, how can you be so reckless! You could seriously hurt somepony with stunts like that! How many times are you going to crash into sompony before you learn your lesson?" She is really mad.

"Aw come on AJ, you know it was an accident! It's not like I enjoy crashing or something. Besides, I apologized to… him…" Apparently she is just now noticing what I am now that I have sat back up. "What the hey is this thing, anyway?" She floats a bit closer, inspecting me.

"This 'thing' is a human, and it has a name." She looks shocked as I continue, "I understand that it was an accident, and I'll try to not hold it against you as long as you try to not use me for a landing cushion again."

A wide grin breaks across her face, "Hehe, sounds good to me. The name's Rainbow Dash, by the way, the fastest thing on two wings." She holds a hoof out to me.

"Leon," I reply as I take her hoof and shake it, "Just Leon."

She chuckles at that. "So Leon, where are you from? Can't say I've ever seen any…whatever-you-are's before."

AJ speaks up again, still looking a bit miffed at Rainbow bowling me over, "Actually, we were just on our way to see Twilight about getting him home. It seems he's from some far off place called 'Earth.' Yesterday, he just woke up out at Sweet Apple Acres without any idea how he got here."

RD looks between AJ and myself, "Really? That's gotta be a bummer. Well then, I won't hold you up anymore. Say hi to Miss Egghead for me."

As we turn to continue on, RD calls out one more thing, "Hey Leon? It was good to meet you. We should hang out some time." Then with a cocky grin, she takes off in a blaze of rainbow into the sky. Okay, I understand that this place has magic and all, but seriously, being able to leave a rainbow in your wake as you fly?

I finish dusting myself off while addressing AJ again, "So she's a friend of yours, I'm guessing?"

As we resume walking down the street, she nods. "Yeah, I've known Rainbow Dash for a long time. I know she can seem a bit brash, but she's one of the best friends you could ask for, once you get to know her."

We walk along for a minute or two before I speak again. "So Mis… uh, Applejack. What can you tell me about this Twilight?" Since the two of AJ's friend's I've already met seemed pretty nice, I'm curious to hear about her other friends.

Strolling along side of me, AJ replies, "Well, let's see. She runs the local library, although she counts that as more of a privilege than a profession. Her special talent is magic. In fact, she's so good with it that she's become the personal student of the Princess."

Princess? So they have a monarchy here? I guess I haven't really given any thought to the form of government in this land. I wonder if it's a true monarchy or more like what England has, with a strong figurehead that works with the government. Do they have a king or a queen? I'm about to ask AJ about this when she suddenly says, "Here we are."

Realizing that I have not been paying much attention, I look up at the building in front of us. It's pretty strange to say the least. While most of the buildings have been simple cottage like constructs with thatched roofs, this one seems to be a massive tree. I mean, HUGE. It doesn't just seem to contain a building, it towers over everything else nearby. There's a large rounded door on the front, several randomly placed windows, and what seems to be a small balcony up near the top.

"This is a library!?" I ask AJ.

"Heh, yeah. Well it's also Twilight's home. The library is most of the first floor, while her living quarters are upstairs." I guess that would explain why a library needs a balcony. AJ continues, "Well, no point just standing here starin' is there?"

We approach the entrance and AJ knocks twice, load and clear. We hear a yell from inside, "Coming!" Although, the voice does not sound too feminine. Come to think of it, why are we knocking if this is a public library? I'm interrupted from my thoughts as the door swings open, revealing another surprise.

Standing there one hand (claw?) on the door, is a small reptilian creature. He's about the same height as Applebloom, but walks on two legs like myself. He is mostly purple, with green spines up his back and tail. His eyes are also bright green. Right now, those eyes are staring up at me in wonder. "Who-oah! What in Equestria are you?"

AJ speaks up here, "Spike, I know he looks different, but it's rude to stare. This here is Leon. We were hoping to speak to Twi. Is she in?"

He glances to AJ before going back to staring at me. "Uh yeah, she's upstairs. Come on in, and I'll go get her." He steps back to allow us access, then closes the door behind us before heading up the nearby stair case.

'Definitely the library,' I think to myself. While waiting, I take the place in. It looks like all the walls are inset with bookshelves. It feels somewhat homey too, though, as there are several desks around the room, and near the center of the room a couple of very low sofas and a coffee table. It seems like pretty much every surface in the room is covered with open books.

AJ takes a seat on one of the sofas, and I sit at the other end of it. Suddenly we hear a loud "WHAT!?" from upstairs. This is following by the clopping of hooves as a pony comes trotting downstairs, just to stop half way down the stairs, staring at me.

This pony's fur is a light shade of purple. Plum? Maybe mulberry? I'm not certain. Her hair is somewhat unique. The majority of it a dark blue, with two thin stripes running through it, one being pink and the other a dark purple. Her hair is styled into… well, I've never been very good describing that sort of thing. I would just describe it as 'precise,' I guess, with both her mane and tail being perfectly straightened and organized. Her eyes are also a dark shade of purple. The horn on her forehead identifies her as a unicorn. Her cutie mark seems to be a large pink star placed over a white one, and surrounded by several smaller white stars. She frozen halfway down the stairs for a few seconds, before she regains her composure and continues walking down.

Reaching the bottom of the stairs, she slowly approaches and says, "Uh… hello there? My name is Twilight Sparkle."

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Miss Sparkle. My name is Leon Jefferson, you can just call me Leon." I reach out, offering a hand/hoof shake, which she slowly accepts.

It seems my polite greeting has helped her to calm down a bit, and she takes a seat on the other sofa, calling out, "Spike! Could you bring us some tea, please?"

"Sure thing!" is the response as Spike comes down the stairs and exits through another door, presumably to the kitchen area.

She looks back us and smiles nervously. "So, Aj… Leon… what can I do for you?"

I glance to AJ, letting her explain, as she knows this pony much better than I do. "Well, it's about Leon here as you can probably tell. He says he is from some far off place called 'Earth' which is inhabited by his people, called humans. Yesterday morning, however, he just woke up here, not having any idea how he got here. It ain't exactly my area of expertise, but it sounds like some kind of magic to move a pony from one world to another. We were wondering if you'd have any ideas on this."

Twilight's eyes grow larger for a moment upon hearing this. She puts a hoof to her chin as she answers. "Well, it does sound like something like that would require magic, although I've never heard of any capable of that. Simple teleportation of a few miles requires huge concentration and power, so I can't imagine anypony being strong enough to not only travel between worlds, but to also use it on someone else instead."

I feel my spirit sink at that. The local magic expert has no idea how to send me back? Am I going to be stuck here forever? AJ notices my change in demeanor and puts a hoof to my shoulder. Twilight then speaks up, trying to reassure me. "Of course, I'll do what I can to try and find a way to help you. Actually would you mind if I give you a quick inspection? If magic that powerful was used on you, I might be able to find a trace of it and get some hint on where to start my research." Once I nod my consent, she closes her eyes. The horn on her forehead begins to glow a faint magenta, and then my body is covered in a similar glow. She focuses for about thirty seconds before the glow dies down and she reopens her eyes.

She looks at me with a quizzical expression, "There is something there, but it's like nothing I've ever felt. Tell me Leon, can humans use magic?"

I'm tempted to laugh at that. "Um, definitely not. Humans have long fantasized about it, but no, there has never been any sign of magic in my world."

She nods in response, "Okay, then. That must just be a leftover aura from whatever brought you here. Sadly though, I've no idea what kind of magic it is."

So I'm out of luck then. "Thanks for trying, Miss Sparkle. Please let me know if you find out anything. In the mean time, what do you think I should do?"

With a short giggle, "Hehe, just Twilight is fine. As for what to do, I guess that's really up to you. Do you already have a place to stay?"

Applejack speaks up here, "Yep, he's just gonna room over at Sweet Apple Acres." Turning to look at me, she continues, "Unless you want to go somewhere else, of course."

I shake my head slowly as I answer, "No, it's fine. Your family seems really nice, Applejack. I'd love to stay with you all." She smiles at this, while I continue, "But I'm gonna need something to do. Do either of you know where I could find some work or something? I should probably stay busy, plus I really don't want to be a burden to your family, Applejack."

AJ replies, "Shucks, sugarcube, you don't need to worry about that. We get by just fine. As for work, we could always use an extra hoof around the farm, if you can handle that sort of thing."

I scratch my chin while considering the farm work. I've seen how tiring that sort of work can be, but good physical labor can be pretty satisfying. "Hmm, maybe."

Twilight shares an idea as well, "You could stop by the town hall, too. There's a board for job postings there. I'm sure you could find something that you like."

That sounds useful, "Yeah, I'll probably check that out, thanks Twilight."

She grins at that, "No problem, it's what I'm here for."

At that, Spike returns with the tea. He walks in carrying a tray with three cups, a kettle, a small container of what seems to be sugar, and bottle of honey. I have to admit, the tea set looks pretty girly, being white and pink with small floral patterns. He sets it down on the coffee table and says "Enjoy!"

Twilight nods to him before starting to pour the tea with her magic, "Thanks, Spike."

AJ and I both state our thanks as well before Spike heads off to do whatever it he does here. I accept a cup from Twilight. I've never been real huge on tea, but I'm certainly not going to turn down her hospitality. Seeing AJ add some honey to hers, I follow suit, while Twilight opts to drink hers plain.

"So, Leon," Twilight starts after we've each been served, "what can you tell me about where you're from? Is it very similar to Equestria?"

"Um, not really." I pause to take a sip. Hey, that's pretty good, actually.

"How so?" Twilight asks. AJ is wearing an expression that says she is also curious.

I think on that for a few seconds, "Eh, well… I guess one of the major things is that humans are the only species that can talk and all that. I mean, there are a few really intelligent animals, but nothing that you could hold a conversation with."

Twilight looks a bit perplexed at that. "Okay, what can you tell me about humans? What are they like normally?"

As I consider the question, the gravity of the situation hits me. Here I am on a new world, representing my entire race to another species. I think about human kind, and remember that while humans have achieved some great things, we've also committed a lot of atrocities. At the very least, most humans are really self-centered, while at worst they can be downright evil. We've gone to the moon and made great medical advances, but we've also slaughtered entire nations for the most stupid reasons.

"I, uh…well…" I don't want to lie to these two, since they've been so very kind and helpful, but I don't think I can handle describing the human race to them. I'm also not sure how well they could handle hearing it.

AJ notices how uncomfortable I'm getting and interrupts, "Actually Twilight, Leon and I have a couple other stops to make. Perhaps another time?" Thank you, Applejack.

"Oh, of course," she nods with understanding. "We really must set up an interview at some point though, Leon. I'd love to learn more about your world."

"Sure," is all I say in response. Having all finished our drinks, Applejack stands up, and I do the same. Twilight walks us over to the door, where we say our goodbyes, and then AJ and I head out.

"Well, where to next, Applejack?" I ask the cowgirl pony.

"I was thinking we should stop by the market and see if there's anything you need. Then maybe we could grab some lunch or something. Sound good to you?" She looks me in the eye with a smile as she speaks.

"That would be great, thanks." With that we head back down the street toward the area that had all those stalls set up. When we arrive, I notice that the crowds seem to have increased now that the day is well underway. The staring and whispering starts again, but at least they clear a path for us as we walk through.

We head through and check out many of the stalls and stores, with AJ greeting many of her acquaintances. Again, most of the stalls are selling produce, but there are a couple general stores as well. We pick up some necessities, including a toothbrush, soap, shampoo, and some deodorant.

Carrying the few small purchases in a paper bag, I turn to my companion and say, "I think that's probably all I need. Thanks again, AJ."

"Think nothin' of it, sugarcube," she quickly replies. "Now how's about we grab some lunch, hmm?"

Thinking that it's probably a little past noon at this point, I nod and answer, "Sounds good to me. Lead the way."

A couple streets down the road, she leads me to an outdoor café. We walk into the fenced in area and take our seats, after I place my bag under the table. The seats are actually just piles of hay, which means the table is actually a bit high for me. To correct this, I choose to sit on my knees, with my legs folded under me. AJ takes a seat on the other side of the somewhat small table just as the unicorn waiter approaches and asks if we want any drinks. I ask for a water, while AJ orders some apple juice. As the waiter walks away, I give her a smirk.

With a slightly nervous smile, she says, "What's that look for?"

I answer her question with one of my own, "You really are into apples, aren't you?"

She's quick to reply, "Heh, well you know… A mare can enjoy her job, can't she?"

"Yeah, I guess. So what do you recommend here?" I ask this as I start to look over the menu. It seems to be mostly vegetarian, not surprisingly, though there are a few dishes including fish.

"Hmm, I'm not really sure. I don't exactly eat out too often. I typically only do this sort of thing when my friends are able to join. Well, my other friends, I mean, hehe," she says while browsing her own menu.

Her wording does not go unnoticed. "Wait, are you saying you already consider me a friend?"

She looks a bit surprised at my question, "Well of course, sugarcube, what else would you be?"

"Um, I don't know. It's just that you barely know anything about me, how can you already think of me as a friend?" I can't exactly say I've ever been real good in the friends department, having always been a bit of a wallflower.

"Well, I think I know enough. I mean, I know that you are polite, kind, and appreciative. I know my family likes you, my friends you've met so far like you, and I have to say that I like you too." She says this quite seriously and sincerely, making sure I understand.

"Well, thanks Applejack, that means a lot." I blush a bit at her compliments, not being used to praise like that. It's even more embarrassing when the praise is from a girl, albeit a pony.

As I'm considering how to continue, the waiter returns to take our orders and drop off our drinks. Applejack looks at me, letting me speak first. Still not really sure what to order, I say, "Um, I think I'll let my friend here order for me."

AJ flashes me a grin, before she turns to the waiter, "Two of the daily special, I think."

The waiter walks away after collecting our menus. Wanting to learn a bit more about her after what she said a moment ago, I ask AJ, "So, have you been at Sweet Apple Acres your whole life?"

"Yep, since the day I was born." She pauses to take a sip of her drink. "The farm's been in our family for four generations. My great-grand-daddy brought the original apple seeds in from his own prized collection."

My eyebrows raise at that. "Wow, I can't imagine living somewhere with so much family history. Considering how successful it is now, your great-grand-father must have been really something. Have you ever considered doing anything besides farming?"

"Well, yeah actually. When I was just a little filly, about Applebloom's age now, I wanted to move to the city to make it big. I moved out to live with some distant relatives, but city life wasn't quite like I had imagined. I started missing my family more and more, and eventually I knew I just had to come back home. When I finally made it back, I was just so overjoyed to see my family and my home again. I vowed to always stick by my family from then on, and that was when my cutie mark appeared." At this, she glances down to the three apples, and smiles contentedly.

I smile as well, thinking over her heartwarming story. "I have to agree with you, family really is important. For the longest time, it's been just my brother and me. While I can't say we've always gotten along, I definitely wouldn't trade the times we had together for anything in the world." Although, this just makes me remember that I'll probably never see him again. That thought alone is enough to sink my spirits.

AJ notices the change in my expression, but just as she is about to speak, the waiter returns, floating two plates in his magical aura. He places them in front of us, and leaves again after giving a slight bow. Our conversation dies down mostly, as we both begin to dig in. It seems the special of the day was some sort of alfredo pasta, with chopped eggplant and some other kind of vegetable I could not quite place. It's quite tasty, though somewhat different to my taste. I have to admit, it's pretty comical watching the way AJ eats by plopping her face into the plate. Of course, how else would she eat?

Once we have finished, AJ slips a handful of bits from under her hat and places them on the table. I pick up my bag from underneath, and we head back out into the street. AJ looks up to me and asks, "So was there anywhere else you wanted to go?"

I think for a moment, feeling as if I am forgetting something. Hmm, oh well. "Nope, I think I'm set to head back if you are."

She gives a quick nod in reply, but then shows an expression of realization. "Actually we could head over and pick Applebloom up. School should be getting out soon, and while she can get home on her own, I'm sure she'd like the company again."

I have to grin at the thought of the little filly. "Heh, yeah, I wouldn't mind."

AJ leads me in the direction that Applebloom took off in earlier that morning, and eventually a hill comes into view with a small, red school at the top. Like many of the buildings here, the design is sort of "cutesy," complete with a small bell tower at the top. Several other ponies are waiting outside chatting, and the bell rings out twice just as AJ and I reach the schoolyard.

After a few seconds, a crowd of fillies and colts (of which there are noticeably fewer) begins to exit the building. As we stand there and wait, I eventually see Applebloom walking out talking to two other fillies. Once she notices us, she squeals and starts to run over, followed somewhat more slowly by the other two.

Realizing what's probably about to happen, I place my bag down and open my arms just in time catch the little filly just as she jumps at my chest. "Hi Leon! Did you come by just to walk me home?"As I nod, AJ loudly clears her throat and smirks at her sister. Applebloom turns her head toward her and looks a bit embarrassed. "Sorry, sis, I didn't mean to ignore you. It's just, you know, Leon stands out a bit more in a crowd than you do."

I get a laugh out of that, as her two friends also approach. One is a white unicorn, with long curly pink and purple hair and viridian eyes. The other is an orange Pegasus with shorter, slightly untidy magenta hair and purple eyes.

The Pegasus runs up close to me and stares, awestruck. "So this is him Applebloom? You were right, he is really tall and tough looking." While I've always gotten comments on my height, I can't say I've ever been described as tough. "My name is Scootaloo! It's great to meet you, Leon." With that she sticks out her hoof.

Holding Applebloom in my left arm, I kneel down and take Scootaloo's tiny hoof in my hand and give it a small shake. After that, I hear the unicorn filly, who has been holding back a little ways, call out, "Are you sure he's not dangerous, Applebloom?"

Scootaloo turns and addresses her, "Come on Sweetie, don't be such a chicken!"

The unicorn rolls her eyes at that and then slowly approaches. "You're hardly one to be calling anypony chicken, Scoot." Once she is in front of me next to Scootaloo, she speaks again. "Hi there, Mr. Leon, my name is Sweetie Bell."

I nod in reply, "Hello, Sweetie, it's a pleasure to meet both of you, though you can just call me Leon."

Scootaloo starts to hop up and down as she speaks, "Applebloom said you're gonna join the Cutie Mark Crusaders. Is that true, Leon?"

Upon hearing that, I notice that these two fillies do not have their cutie marks either, probably meaning that they are the other members of the "secret society." "Um, yeah, Applebloom sort of talked me into it this morning."

Applebloom hops down from my arms as all three of them start to hop around me, yelling high pitched "yay's." AJ and I both smile as this cute scene continues for a few seconds. The three fillies then line up in front of me, before Sweetie Belle speaks up, "So can you come to our meeting tomorrow afternoon? We're gonna think up ways to earn our cutie marks!"

Staring down at those three adorable faces, of course I answer, "Sure, sounds like fun."

All three of them hop up and yell one more time at that. As they start to calm down, Scootaloo is the first to speak. "I should probably get going, guys. I want to get some practice in before I have to do that homework."

Sweetie agrees, "Yeah, I'm supposed to meet up with my sister tonight, so I should be leaving too." As the three of them say their goodbyes, we all head off in our respective directions, with AJ, Applebloom, and myself heading back to Sweet Apple Acres. As we walk along, AJ and I fill Applebloom in on what we did today, although I leave out the conversation with Twilight about me being unable to go home. I don't really want to bring up the idea of my leaving around little Applebloom. She in turn tells us about what they covered in school, while mostly complaining about a math quiz that they'd had.

As we start to enter Sweet Apple Acres (which I think I'm just going to refer to as SAA from here on out), Applebloom asks me if I want to go swimming.

Before I can answer, AJ interjects, "Now Applebloom, you know you've gotta get your homework done before that sort of thing. Tomorrow's the weekend, I'm sure you'll have time to play with Leon later."

Applebloom looks a bit disappointed from hearing that. "Aw, alright, Sis. I'll go get started on it." She heads into the house, leaving AJ and I standing out front watching her go.

Suddenly I slap my hand to my forehead, making AJ jump. Applebloom's question about swimming made me think about how I don't have any swim trunks, which made me realize what I had forgotten today. AJ asks, "Something wrong, there, Leon?"

"Yes, there is. I just realized that I forgot to look into getting some clothes in town. It's gonna get sort of gross wearing this same set every day," I answer, letting my hand slowly slide down my face before it falls back to my side.

AJ looks kind of confused. "Well if you don't want to keep wearing them, why don't you just go without?"

What!? Is she REALLY suggesting that I go nude!? I can't believe… wait a second. I guess if I think about it… most of the ponies here are technically naked. Ugh, that's a weird thought. The most clothing I've seen on them so far was the occasional neck tie or hat. I guess wearing clothes every day would seem pretty strange to them in that case.

What is the least embarrassing way that I can explain this? "I…can't really do that. In human culture, it's considered taboo to go around not wearing anything." Please don't ask me to explain, please don't ask me to explain.

She cocks one eyebrow, "Well, why is that?"

Dang it. I can feel my face turning red. "Well, um…ugh… human anatomy is… not exactly set up to… keep private stuff private."

…..

…..

She suddenly gains a look of understanding, which lasts for about half of a second before being replaced with a look of embarrassment. She averts her eyes before speaking. "Ah, okay then. Well, in that case, you should talk to Rarity, a friend of mine. She makes some of the finest clothing in Equestria. We can cover any costs for it."

Although I'm glad to be changing the topic, it bothers me to have the Apple family paying for all these things for me. "Applejack, I really appreciate the offer, but I'm not comfortable having you spend that much on me, especially if this clothing would be as fine as all that."

She takes a couple steps closer and looks me in the eye again. She motions me downward, so I bend to one knee. Once we are at an equal eye level, she continues speaking, "Leon, you don't need to worry about that. You're our guest and our friend, so it's our joy to help you. To tell the truth, the farm has been doing real well the last few years, so just know that you're not going to be a burden or anything like that." She then breaks into a large grin, "Besides, if I know Rarity as well as I think I do, she'll give you a REALLY good deal as a way to welcome you to town."

I smile while massaging my forehead, "Okay, fine. Thank you again, Applejack. If you're gonna keep covering my expenses like that, you have to start letting me help out around here though. I really don't like mooching off of friends."

She adjusts her hat and chuckles, "Alright, sounds good to me. I can start showing you some of the ropes tomorrow morning. For now though, you'll have to excuse me. I wanna go check that the animals have been taken care of." With that she turns and heads off toward the barn.

Man, I can't believe how wonderful these ponies are. They've been nothing but kind and generous to me. I can't say I've ever met anyone back home with this kind of hospitality. When I think of it that way, I guess… being stuck here wouldn't really be too bad.

Well, enough of that. I should probably be heading in to unload my purchases. As I pass through the first floor main hallway, I hear what can only be Granny Smith humming in the kitchen. I also smell a faint whiff of something delicious, although I can't quite decide what it is. I head upstairs to the second floor restroom, where I locate an empty shelf to place my few items.

Now that I have these, I decide I might as well take a shower before dinner. I first locate a small closet with plenty of towels, then start up the water to warm while I get undressed. Stepping into the tub/shower, I realize that the shower head is bit low for me, being just below shoulder level. Well, I suppose it wasn't exactly meant for creatures as tall as I am. I manage to make it work and get completely clean for the first time in two days.

Not being sure what the situation is with the hot water here, I try to make it quick and am out in just under ten minutes. Getting redressed in my admittedly slightly smelly clothes, I remind myself that I absolutely have to get some new ones tomorrow.

I step out into the hall feeling much better. Hmm, what to do. I could see if Granny wants some help downstairs, or I could get some more reading done. Actually, thinking of that book reminds me of Applebloom, and I decide to stop by her room and see what she's up to.

Just a few steps down the hall, I knock on her door and quickly hear her say, "Come on in!" I open the door and start to enter, seeing Applebloom laying on her bed with a book and several papers sprawled out in front of her. "Oh, Leon, it's you. What's up?"

I shrug in reply, "Nothing, just wanted to see what you were doing."

She then looks a bit annoyed, "Nothing fun, just homework. I just don't see why we gotta do this stuff all day and then take it home too."

I have to smile at that. I take a couple steps over to her and look over her work. Seems to be mostly arithmetic. However, there aren't very many answers written down. "Math, huh? That was one of my favorite subjects, you know."

She looks surprised, probably wondering how anyone could enjoy math. "Really? I can't stand the stuff. It just doesn't seem to make sense."

I take a seat on the edge of the bed and inspect her work some more. "Would you like some help? I'm no expert, but I had to do all this stuff too."

"Really? That'd be great!" she replies. "I can't get help on this very often. My sis is great and all, but boy, she is terrible at math. Big Mac knows how to do it, but not how to explain it very well. And Granny, well… she just has trouble staying awake long enough."

I chuckle at the thought of AJ struggling with math. I'm guessing Big Mac keeps the books for the farm, in that case. "Yeah, don't worry, at least stuff at this level should not be a problem for me. I see you can handle the addition and subtraction just fine, but aren't making much progress on the multiplication. How about…"

We sit there for a while, me sharing some of the tips I remember from when I was learning this stuff the first time. Of course, I don't want to just give her answers, since that would hurt her in the long run. After a while of reviewing, she seems to be getting the hang of it.

Maybe twenty or thirty minutes later, Applebloom is just about done with her assignment when Applejack walks in. "There you two are. Dinner's almost ready. Whatcha up to there?"

Applebloom speaks up here, "Leon's helping me with my homework. He's really smart, Sis!"

I grimace slightly at that. "I wouldn't really say that, Applebloom. I'm just older than you and further along the education process, that's all. I'm sure you'll have all this stuff down pat soon enough."

AJ grins at me, "Well, either way, thank you kindly for helping my little Sis out." At that comment I hear a mumbled 'I'm not little…' from beside me. AJ continues, probably not hearing her, "In a few minutes head downstairs and help me set the table, alright?"

'Bloom and I agree to, and AJ heads back out. I help the little filly finish up the last couple problems, and then she starts to pick everything up and slide it back into her bag. With her schoolwork put away, I ask her, "Ready to go, 'Bloom?"

She's carrying her bag over near the door, presumably so it'll be ready for use the next schoolday. "Yep, let's head out, I'm starving."

As she is adjusting her bag on the floor, I sneak up quietly behind her, and then I scoop her up in my arms quickly. She lets out a yelp of surprise then starts to giggle. "Well, if you're starving, then you probably need some help getting downstairs, huh?"

She nods enthusiastically at this. I carefully place her on my shoulder, keeping one hand on her abdomen to hold her steady, while she holds onto the top of my head with one foreleg. I walk out into the hall and downstairs, her quietly giggling all the way.

When we get to the dining room, I see AJ walking in balancing a small tower of plates on her back. She gains a wide grin, seeing Applebloom having a good time. Before, she tries to slide the plates off her back onto the table, I grab them with my free hand. "Don't worry, I've got these."

I start setting them up around the table, while AJ walks back to the kitchen after telling me thanks. I then grab five glasses off of a nearby shelf and set them near the plates. I turn my head toward, Applebloom, who's still perched on my shoulder. "Hey, 'Bloom, do you guys have any silverware?"

She nods before speaking, "Um, yeah, we do. Of course, we don't exactly use it often. I think Granny just keeps it for when we have unicorns over. Do you need some, Leon?"

I'm glad to hear that I won't have to eat with my fingers. "Yeah, that would be swell. Humans don't typically eat the same way as ponies."

She directs me over to the kitchen, where I see Granny pulling some covered dish out of the oven and AJ mixing something in a large pitcher. I retrieve some silverware from the appropriate drawer, and then 'Bloom and I head back to the dining room. Setting the silverware near a plate, I pick up Applebloom and place her on the stool next to me. I then take my seat, with Applebloom being directly to my right.

It's then that Big Mac arrives, entering from the main hallway. He nods to me, gives Applebloom a quick nuzzle, and then takes a seat across from her. It's just a moment more before AJ and Granny start carrying in several dishes. It seems the meal is going to be some kind of casserole, mashed potatoes, and sweet peas. They also bring in two large pitchers, one filled with ice water, and the other with lemonade. Once everything is set up, Granny takes her seat at the head of the table, and AJ sits across from me.

Seeing me eyeing the amazing spread before me, Granny Smith says, "Well, go ahead and help yourself, dear."

Picking up the tub of mashed potatoes, I reply, "Don't mind if I do." I serve myself a dollop, before passing the dish to Applebloom. Once all the dishes have made it around the table and everyone is served, we dig in. The food is delicious, and I make sure the mares know this, complimenting their cooking. It seems the casserole contains broccoli, carrots, sliced radishes, and plenty of cheese.

The conversation mostly consists of them telling how their respective days went. Applebloom is eager to share with her brother and grandma that I'm going to be joining the Cutie Mark Crusaders. Big Mac says that business went well at the stall, although it was a bit boring.

I contemplate saying something about how there aren't any apple based dishes here, just to tease AJ again, but as we are beginning to finish, Granny Smith walks out and returns with an apple pie. It smells incredibly sweet, and I'm practically drooling as she serves a slice out to each of us. I take a bite and… just wow… it's like a bit of heaven on my tongue. I have to comment on this, "Granny, this has got to be the most amazing thing I've ever tasted. I swear, I could just kiss you for this."

She smiles at me, though Applebloom snickers a bit. "Well, dearie, I wish I could accept the praise, but Applejack actually made it, not me." I look over to AJ, who seems slightly embarrassed. "Aw, it's nothing real fancy. I'm glad to hear that you like it, Leon."

Well, this is slightly embarrassing after what I just said, but it quickly gets much worse once Applebloom asks, "Well, Leon, aren't you going to kiss her?" Everything seems to freeze for several seconds, my eyes suddenly getting very large as everyone stares at Applebloom. Then, at the same time, both Granny and Big Mac burst out laughing like crazy.

Applebloom looks somewhat confused as to what's so funny, while AJ and I glance at each other before quickly averting our eyes. We both chuckle along as well, though not nearly as much as the other two are. Big Mac actually falls out of his seat holding his side. Eventually, they both calm down, and we all continue eating our desert, although Applebloom looks disappointed.

We're all soon finished up, and I help gather up the dishes. I bring an armful into the kitchen and set the dishes next to the sink. Granny again insists that she'll handle washing the dishes, so I head back upstairs to my room. Grabbing the book that Applebloom lent me, I lay out on the bed to read. I do this for a couple hours, learning about some person named Discord and his reign of terror. Apparently, two ponies named Celestia and Luna used some magical item to defeat him and established themselves as princesses over the land.

It seems like there are some details missing here. Were these two the first pony rulers? Where did they get the magical artifact? And what did they do with it afterwards? Are the current rulers direct descendants of these two? Seems unlikely to me, as this was over 1200 years ago.

After a couple of hours, I notice that it has gotten really dark outside. There's no clock in this room, but I'd estimate it as around nine pm. I sit up and stretch, considering whether I should get to sleep, when there's a knock at my door. I call out, "It's unlocked," and then the door opens revealing little Applebloom standing there.

"Hey, Leon," she says as she walks in. "I just wanted to say goodnight."

"Ah, well…" I start, but as I'm about to wish her a good night, she quickly hops up onto the bed and wraps her forelegs around my chest. Taken by surprise, I slowly place one hand on her back.

"Goodnight, Leon." She looks up to me with those big, hazel eyes and continues, "I'm really glad I got to meet you."

Aw man, how cute can she get? I put both arms around her and hug her a little tighter. "Same here, 'Bloom. Goodnight." At that, we let go and she heads back out, closing the door as she leaves.

With that, I strip down to my boxers, cut the light and crawl into bed. I just can't get over how kind AJ and her family have been to me. As I think over everything they've done for me, I slowly drift off to sleep, wearing a small grin.


	3. Chapter 3

Prohpet21: Thanks for your input. That's one of the things I've learned while doing this. I can read the same page a dozen times over and STILL find errors. It bugs me so much. Sorry if it bugs you too….

The Joeker: Thanks, man, you're a real encouragement. I've now reloaded chapter one with slightly better formatting.

Morzan191: Thank you, I'll try. Part of my motivation for this is that it's the kind I story I myself want to read. I'm glad to hear that anyone else out there can get some enjoyment out of this.

Chapter 3:

I wake to the sound of someone knocking on my door. "Rise and shine, Leon!" I hear Applejack yell from the hallway. I roll over and am greeted by the sunlight streaming in through the window.

"Yeah, okay, I'm up," I call back to her. Ugh, this'll take some getting used to. It must be just after dawn. I know it's better to start early and just go to bed earlier, but sleeping in is so difficult to resist. Anyway, I manage to struggle out from under the covers and sit up on the edge of my bed.

Just as I'm finishing stretching, the door flies open and Applebloom comes bounding in. "Good morning, Leon. Sleep well?"

I quickly yank the covers over the majority of my lower half. "Ah! Applebloom, I'm not dressed yet!"

She cocks her head a bit with a quizzical expression. "So? What does that matter?"

I sigh to myself remembering that ponies don't view clothing the same way as humans. "Uh, it's a human thing, I guess. Just give me a minute to get dressed, okay?"

"Well, alright." She walks back out into the hall, closing the door after herself. I quickly get up and dress myself, noting that my clothes are looking really wrinkled and dirty by this point. Once finished, I open the door and walk out to see Applebloom plopped down across the hall.

She hops up on all fours and stares at me, "Sorry about that, Leon."

I bend down and pet her mane, "Don't sweat it, Applebloom. You didn't know. Good morning to you too, by the way."

As I stand back up, a smile returns to her face. "So what are you up to today, Leon?"

We start walking toward the stairs as I answer, "I think your sister is going to let me help with some chores this morning. Then at some point today, I need to go to town to see about getting some new clothes. How about you? Got any plans?"

"Nah, not really. At least not until the meeting this evening. Hey, are you going to see Rarity?" I nod in answer and she continues. "Would you mind if I go with you? She's Sweetie's sister, and I'd like to go visit her."

"Sure, as long as it's alright with your family, I'd love to have you along." By now, we are entering the dining room, where AJ and Big Mac are already eating. Looks like scrambled eggs and hash browns. I'll be glad to get some protein for once. As I take a seat and start to serve myself, I greet the two, "Good morning, Applejack, Big Mac."

They both greet me and their younger sister, who again takes a seat next to me. Taking a sip of orange juice, I address AJ, "So, what's the plan here, Applejack?

After she swallows, she answers, "Well, I was thinking I'd have you help me with the apple bucking this morning."

Bucking? "What does that entail, exactly?"

She explains, "That's just what we call the process of harvesting the apples. I guess you'll see why later. So, we harvest them, load them into the cart until it's full, and then take that into the market to sell. Nothing to it, really."

"Sounds easy enough, I guess. We getting started right after breakfast?" I notice now that she is practically done already.

"Yep. I'm just about to head out actually. Just meet me over by the barn when you're ready." With that, she takes her plate and cup into the kitchen and leaves out the back door.

Not wanting to leave her waiting, I hurry to finish my breakfast. Before I leave, I turn to Applebloom. "So I'll just come find you when we're ready to head to town, alright?"

She nods to me, "Alright, Leon, see you in a while."

Dropping off my dishes near the sink, I head outside and make a beeline for the barn. As I approach, I hear what seems to be a dog barking. Sure enough, a small dog comes running out of the barn, followed by Applejack pulling a pony sized cart. Spotting me, the dog runs over to me barking and yipping happily. I bend down to greet her, petting her and letting her sniff my hands. "Well, well, who do we have here? Applejack, I didn't know you all had a pet."

She ambles over, pulling the cart, which I notice is filled with empty baskets. "Heh, yep, this here is Winona. I'd say she's more of a family member than a pet."

I look back down to the canine, still petting her. She has short fur, mostly brown with white patches on her legs and chest. She reminds me of a stereotypical sheepdog, albeit smaller. "Hello there, Winona. You're awfully friendly, aren't you?" She wags her tale in response.

As I stand back up, I look to AJ and say, "I'm ready to start if you are."

She nods, then turns and heads out into the orchard. "Yep, let's mosey." Winona heads off around the back of the house to do who knows what.

After a few minutes of walking, we stop at a seemingly random tree. As AJ starts to remove the cart harness, she says to me, "Alright, grab a few of these baskets and set em up around the base of this tree."

I take five baskets out, and place them somewhat evenly around the trunk, although I'm confused as to why we need several at the same time. Now that I think about it, how does AJ pick these apples on her own? She's way too short to reach the branches.

She looks over the placement of the baskets, making some minute adjustments, before looking satisfied and warning me, "Okay, stand back, Leon. Just watch and learn."

I take a couple steps back from the tree and watch as she positions herself facing away from it. She seems to readjust her front hooves for maximum grip, before she suddenly pulls her hind legs up to her chest and then kicks backwards against the trunk. She hits it with some amazing force, making the whole tree shake. What's really surprising though, is that this seems to make almost every single apple fall out of the tree and land neatly in the baskets.

"What on earth… how'd you do that?" I ask, dumbfounded.

She smiles while readjusting her hat. "Heh, oh you know, just plenty of practice. All part of being an earth pony. You want to try it?"

"Um, I'm pretty sure I'm not strong enough for that. Even if I could hit it that hard, I think I'd be likely to break something." No way am I going to go punching or kicking trees. "I could just pick them by hand."

"You mean one by one?" She asks, tilting her head slowly. "That'd be a lot slower. I'll tell you what, how's about I do the bucking, and you help me move em. That'd probably be a lot easier for you than for me, what with having those fingers and all."

Makes sense to me, although now I'm really wondering how she would handle these on her own. "Yeah, sounds good. Tell me though, how do you move these big baskets without fingers or magic?"

"Aw, that's simple. We use a special saddle with hooks on either side to carry them. Takes longer though, since I can only move two at a time that way. Using a cart, we can move more back to the barn per trip." She nods back toward the cart as she says this.

"Hmm, okay. Well, I don't want to be wasting anymore of your time." With that, I start picking up the baskets and placing them in the cart. They're not especially heavy, but not exactly light either. AJ leads me over to another tree after I grab the rest of the baskets, where we repeat the process. Having filled the cart, we start heading back to the barn after AJ is hooked back up.

As we head back, AJ explains that we'll unload these at the barn and then do the same thing a couple more times. Once we make three trips, we'll fill the cart one more time so it can be taken to the market.

As I start carrying the baskets into the barn, I ask her, "So if these are not going to the market, what are you going to use them for?"

Still hooked up to the cart and watching, she answers, "Well, we keep a good supply in here for ponies who come by the farm to buy. When somepony wants to make a large order, they typically prefer to do that here. Also, Granny uses apples to make all sorts of other things, from cider to jams and fritters."

It really is a pretty versatile and tasty ingredient, I suppose. I finish unloading and we head back out to do it over again, after loading more empty baskets. We continue this without much incident, passing the time with idle conversation. AJ tells me a bit about a time that she got the idea to harvest the entire orchard by herself, ending in her collapsing from exhaustion. Before I know it, two hours have passed and we are headed back to the barn with the fourth load.

My arms are extremely sore, and my back is not much better, but I certainly feel content being able to help out. AJ has worked up a very slight sweat, but does not seem to be struggling at all like I am. That's not too surprising since she's been doing this sort of thing her whole life.

Since this load'll be going into town, we just leave it outside the barn. After AJ is unhooked, she advises me to take a breather while she gets some drinks. As she heads back to the house, I lean against the side of the barn and then slide down to a sitting position, with my knees slightly raised. As I sit there listening to the wind, I look out over the orchard, taking it in.

It's a couple of minutes before she returns, balancing a couple glasses of ice water on her head. I thank her before accepting one and taking a long gulp. AJ takes a seat right next to me and starts to sip her drink as well.

We sit there looking out over the apple tree covered hills for a moment before I break the silence. "It really is a beautiful place, AJ. I can see why your family is so devoted to it."

Out of the corner of my eye, I see her expression soften. "Yeah, it's something else. I don't think I'd ever want to live anywhere besides right here. I'm glad you appreciate it too, not many ponies can."

After a few seconds, "Man, it must be nice knowing what you want to do with your life, having a purpose and a future." I think back over the last few years, and how I never really put much thought into my future.

AJ slowly nods, still looking into the distance. "Yep. It sure feels like apple farming is just in my blood."

I think over her words before a smirk comes over my face. Turning my head a little toward her I nudge her and say, "Personally I'm surprised you haven't turned into an apple yourself."

"Hardy-har-har," she replies before giving me a light shove. I chuckle at this and settle back against the wall again to continue gazing over the orchard. AJ adjusts her position, getting more comfortable, and ends up where she is leaning against my shoulder somewhat. I don't think much of it, still mesmerized by the scene in front of me.

We sit there in silence for a few minutes, before the sound of laughter and barking drifts from the far side of the barn. Eventually, I spy Applebloom and Winona running around the corner of the building, apparently chasing each other. Applebloom spots us and runs to in front of us, a big smile on her face. "Watcha guys doing?"

Okay, NOW I'm aware of AJ leaning against me. We both quickly stand up as I reply, "Uh, nothing, just taking a break." I stretch and pop my back, trying to ignore the way Applebloom is smiling and glancing between the two of us.

AJ tries to change the subject, sounding a bit embarrassed as well. "I think we're good to head into town. You ready, sis?"

Applebloom finally stops with the look and nods. "Yep, I'm ready."

"Okay, let me get hooked back up to the cart and we'll head out. Leon, you want to run these glasses back inside?" She says over her shoulder, walking toward the cart that's still parked near the barn entrance.

"Sure thing, Applejack." I grab the two empty cups and jog over to the house, where I leave them next to the kitchen sink. Smells like Granny Smith has something tasty baking in there. I head back outside to see AJ saddled up with Applebloom seated at the front of the cart snacking on an apple. Looks like Winona wandered off while I was gone.

We head down the road out the main entrance, but I don't see any sign of Big Mac this time. Applebloom continues chowing down while AJ starts to explain to me the currency system in Equestria. It seems the entire economy works with just a single unit, the bit. These are made from a gold alloy to make them stronger and lighter. She mentions that gems are often accepted in many places as currency, but that they are more difficult to use since they are not uniform in value. Just as she is starting to explain how bargaining at the market usually works, we arrive at the Apple families stand on main street.

Applebloom hops down from the cart, and I ask AJ if she wants any help setting up. "Nah, there ain't much to it. You two head on over to Rarity's and get your clothes ordered. She charges on pick-up so we'll cover that next time. And speaking of which, here, catch, Leon." With that she reaches under her hat and tosses six bits to me. "That should be enough to get you two some lunch if need be."

I thank her, and then Applebloom and I head off, with her leading the way of course. After several minutes, we approach our destination. Once again, it is a really strange looking building. I looks sort of like a giant, pale blue merry-go-round, or maybe a carousel. Of course, the whole design is quite…girlified. It fits in here though, I guess. As we approach the door, I see a small "Open" sign hanging in the window. Applebloom leads the way inside, and as she opens the door I hear a bell tingling somewhere overhead.

"Just a moment, please!" I hear from somewhere in the back of the building. I look around the main room while we wait. It does look like what I imagined a seamstresses shop to be. There are shelves filled with different fabrics and threads, several sewing machines scattered around, and many pony shaped mannequins (ponyquins?) around the edge of the room showing off dresses. I can't say I'm real informed on either dresses or pony style, but they certainly do look pretty. In one corner, there's a set of stairs with a very gaudy railing.

I hear a door swing open and someone greeting us, "Welcome to Carousel Boutique, where everything is… Oh my! Um, you must be Leon, I presume?"

Before me is a unicorn, half covering her mouth with one hoof in a sign of surprise. I have to say that she is probably one of the most elegant ponies I've seen yet. Her fur is pure white, while her mane and tail are both indigo. They are both teased up into some impossible looking curls. Her eyes are dark blue. She seems to be wearing make-up, since she has some light blue eye shadow, and her lashes are longer and darker than most. Her cutie mark consists of three cyan diamond shapes, presumably supposed to represent actual diamonds.

"Eh, yes, my name is Leon. How did you know that?" I ask, wondering if we've already met at some point.

"Ah, you see… A couple of my friends have already told me about you. I spoke to Twilight last night, and today… well, why don't you come back to the lounge and see for yourself?"

As she starts to lead me toward the door she just came from, Applebloom pokes here head out from behind my legs. "Hi Rarity. Is Sweetie around?"

"Oh, little Applebloom! I had not even noticed you there. In answer to your question, yes, Sweetie Belle is upstairs in her room." She says this while motioning one hoof toward the stairs.

Applebloom takes off up the stairs with a quick "Thanks, Rarity!"

Alone now, Rarity looks back to me and nods her head toward the door, "Come along now, darling." I follow her through into the next room, having to duck my head a bit at the door frame. As I straighten back up, I hear Rarity say in a sing-song voice, "Fluttershy, guess who just walked in! The stallion you were just telling me about."

Sure enough, Fluttershy is curled up on a couch sipping from a teacup on the coffee table before her. At Rarity's declaration, she looks over to me, and her face breaks into a bright smile. She daintily hops off the sofa and approaches me. I kneel down to greet her, but am cut off as she suddenly hugs me. "Leon, it's good to see you again." I return her hug with one arm, before she breaks away and looks me in the face. "Are things going alright with you?"

I have to smile in return. It surprises me how glad I am to see her again, the pony who really helped welcome me here. "Yes, I'm doing great. I'm actually here to speak to Rarity, but seeing you is definitely a bonus. What are you doing here?"

She answers in her characteristically quiet voice while returning to her seat, "Oh, I'm just visiting. Rarity is one of my best friends, and we often get together to catch up. I hope that's not a bother. I can leave if you need to speak to her in private."

"No, no, no Fluttershy. Don't worry about it. I'm glad to have you around and I'm sorry if I interrupted your time together." I stand back up with these words.

Rarity comments at this ,"You were right, Fluttershy, he is rather polite." Then , turning to me, "Now, darling, you said you needed to speak to me? What can I do for you? Oh and please feel free to have a seat." As she says this, she canters over and takes a seat next to Fluttershy, lifting up another tea cup in her magic.

I step around the coffee table and opt to just lean against the side of the other couch. "Well, I was actually looking to place an order for some clothes. The ones I have are not going to cut it."

She looks me over quickly before commenting, "Hmm, I see what you mean."

I glance down at my attire. My clothes are an epic combination of dirty, grimy, and wrinkled. Thinking of the pristine environment I'm in, this is even more embarrassing. "Yeah, well… Applejack recommended you, although I understand if you don't have anything in my size or for my body structure."

She closes her eyes and smiles, waving a hoof before her, "Oh pish posh, Leon. I might not have anything already made for someone like yourself, but I'm sure I can do it. Rarity has never met a pony who's inner beauty she could not bring out!" She stands up and starts to circle around me, probably observing my body type. "I have to admit, this will certainly be a new challenge, making clothing for a…what was it? Human?"

I nod. "Yep. Um, Applejack said she would be willing to cover the charge, but I would like to request that we keep the quality to a minimum. I'm not really comfortable having her family foot…well, hoof the bill for me."

Coming full circle around me, she looks back to my face and answers, "Oh don't you worry about that darling. As a new resident of Ponyville, plus the glowing recommendations of my friends, your wardrobe will be free of charge this time."

Ugh, that's even worse than AJ covering the bill. I hardly know this pony and she is already being too generous to me. "I can't really allow that, Rarity. I would feel terrible accepting your gifts for nothing in return." Fluttershy flashes me a small smile.

Rarity takes a step closer and gains a serious look, "Leon, please understand. Designing and crafting clothing is what I live for. The chance to design new clothing for you is return enough for me. Not only does creating clothes for you bring me joy, but also taking this opportunity to welcome you here and offer my friendship is a privilege. So please, accept my gift? Just this once?" She puts on a pouty face as she finishes.

I sigh in defeat. These ponies are way too cute, and they know how to use it against me. "Okay, fine. Thank you, Rarity. This really does mean a lot to me. So do you just need my sizes?"

She claps her hooves together and wears an ecstatic expression, before motioning me over to a small raised platform. "I'll just take your measurements over here. If you please?"

I step over onto the platform, and start to raise my arms, but Rarity interrupts, "You'll need to remove your clothing if we want accurate measurements, Darling." Ugh, not this again.

"Eh, actually, I can't really do that. Where I'm from, it's rude to… not be fully clothed in most cases. Especially around ladies." I can feel my cheeks turning a bit red, and I notice Fluttershy moving her hair to cover her face.

"Ah, I see. Well, no matter. We'll just do what we can." With that, Rarity brings a tape measure over toward me in her magic and a scroll and quill toward herself. It seems as if she is measureing every possible direction across everywhere. When she gets to my waist she tugs on the waistline of my pants.

"Hmm, are you wearing two pairs of pants, darling?" Yeah, with the way that ponies rarely wear clothing, I can't suppose that they know about underwear. "Um, those are my boxers." I try to describe the general form of typical boxers. When she asks me why I wear them, I just tell her that it's a human thing. Fluttershy giggles at that, while Rarity looks slightly ruffled at not being informed on this part of human "fashion."

Finally, the tape measure quickly snaps back together and floats back to a shelf while Rarity looks over the parchment. "I believe I have all I'm going to need. Now what kind of clothing were you thinking of?"

"Well, I guess… casual? Um, you have denim, right?" She nods. "Okay, well some jeans would be great. As for shirts… a few t-shirts and some button ups? Um, whatever pattern you'd think looks good, I guess." I also go on to explain socks and request some boxers, a couple pairs of pajama pants, and finally a pair of swim trunks. I struggle to explain the differences between the three.

Her scroll seems to be completely filled by this point with both the measurements and notes about my preferences. "Hmm, I think this'll work just fine. Now, you look like you could really use at least one change of clothes today," to which I nod vehemently, "so I'll get started right away. If you could just give me a couple of hours, I'm sure I'll have at least a little something thrown together."

"Sounds great, thanks again, Rarity." I walk back over the near the couch where Fluttershy has been watching the proceedings.

She speaks up as Rarity starts drawing out some sketches. "Um, if Rarity needs some time, perhaps we could go get some lunch? If you don't mind, I mean."

I cross my arms and smile at her. "Of course, sounds good to me. You have a place in mind?"

"Um, I think so. Have you been to Sugar Cube Corner?" Hmm, that's sounds like AJ's kind of place with the whole 'sugarcube' thing she does.

"I can't say that I have. Is it good?"

She nods. "Oh yes, I think you'll like it. Everypony here does."

"Okay, let's go then. I trust your opinion." We take a couple steps toward the exit when I remember someone. "Ah, wait. What about Applebloom? I need to get her some lunch too."

Rarity must have been listening, for she speaks up at this point. "Don't you worry yourself about her, Leon. I'll serve her and Sweetie Belle some lunch shortly. Go on and enjoy yourself."

With that, Fluttershy and I head out into the front room. "Just a minute, 'Shy. I want to let Applebloom know I'm heading out."

"Of course, I understand," she says before taking a seat next to the front entrance.

I head up the stairs (which is a bit challenging since they are not made for feet as large as mine) and hear laughing and little hooves when I near the top. "Applebloom?" I call out.

She pokes her head out of a doorway down the hall. "Yeah, Leon? What's up?"

I approach her and kneel down, ruffling her mane. "I just wanted to let you know that I'm going to head out to lunch with Fluttershy for a while. Are you going to be okay staying here?"

She smiles while flattening her mane down with one hoof, "Oh yeah, don't worry about me. I'll see you later, okay?"

She then jumps up on her hind legs and hugs me, which I gladly return. "Okay, 'Bloom, I'll see you in a while."

I turn around and head back downstairs, while Applebloom heads back into the room. Back downstairs again, Fluttershy looks up from the floor at me, and then we head outside together.

She leads the way down the street, and I decide on a way to strike up the conversation. "So, Fluttershy, what do you do for a living around here?"

Walking beside me, she answers, "Well, I take care of animals mostly. I help out injured or sick critters, whether wild or domesticated." That is a bit of a surprise. Quiet little Fluttershy handling potentially dangerous animals?

I follow with another question. "Wow, really? Do you enjoy your work?"

She lights up at this, gaining probably the most volume I've yet heard out her. "Oh yes, very much so. It just makes me so happy to see all my little friends happy. Tell me, Leon, do like animals?"

I almost chuckle at the thought of how she might react if I were to say no. "Heh, I love most animals, though I've never had many pets. My brother always had trouble with animal dander of all types, so we were kind of limited. I used to have a pet turtle, and when I was much younger, my brother and I each got a naked mole rat. They looked weird, but they were really affectionate."

Fluttershy smiles sweetly while listening. Once I finish, she asks, "Do you suppose you'll want to get a pet here?"

Hmm, I'm not sure if I should be considering that kind of thing already. "Maybe eventually. I'm sort of still just trying to get settled in, but yeah a companion would be great."

Fluttershy is about to say something else when she is cut off by a really loud gasping sound from behind us. I turn around to see a pony sort of frozen in mid air with her mouth hanging open. She is entirely pink, with her mane and tail being slightly darker and very frizzy. Her eyes are light blue, and her cutie mark seems to consist of three balloons, two blue and one yellow. The lack of horn or wings makes her an earth pony, I guess. I glance to Fluttershy, and whisper, "Is that normal here?"

She whispers back, "It is for her. Whatever happens, just be patient, okay?"

I have about a second to wonder why she would say something like that before the pony unfreezes. As she hits the ground, she quickly runs up to right in front of me and starts hopping high enough that her eyes are level with mine.

She then starts speaking faster than I've ever heard anyone speak, "Hi-there-you-must-be-new-here! I-know-because-I-don't-recognize-you-and-I-know-everypony-and-I-mean-everypony-around-Ponyville. So-if-I-don't-recognize-you-that-must-mean-you-just-got-here-and-that-means-I-need-to…I'LLBERIGHTBACK!"

Suddenly she zips off into the distance, leaving a pony shaped dust cloud where she was just standing. That doesn't even make sense. Anyhow, after about two seconds, she zips back to right in front of myself and Fluttershy dragging some kind of large wagon thing. She smiles and gives it a kick. It starts playing music and waving flags as the pony rears up on her hind legs in a weirdly human fashion and starts to dance.

And then, of course, she starts to sing. "Welcome, welcome, welcome, I say welcome to you! - Welcome, welcome, welcome, I say how do you do? - Welcome, welcome, welcome, I say hip-hip-hooray! - Welcome, welcome, welcome, to Ponyville TODAAAAAAY!"

Just as she ends with a big flourish, one of the tubes on top of the wagon shoots a big tan glob into the air which then lands on the pony, completely covering her in the mess. Then, as if to add insult to injury, a compartment opens on the side and shoots a huge amount of confetti onto her, sticking to the glop.

Oh, man, I'm trying not to laugh at her misfortune, but the total randomness of the whole situation is just too much for me. I start guffawing like crazy, struggling to stay upright. Fluttershy is managing to contain her amusement, though just barely. Despite how I thought she would be hurt from my laughing at her, the pink pony just breaks into a huge grin, and says, "I can tell that we're going to get along juuust great."

She cleans herself off and stashes her wagon somewhere while I slowly manage to calm down. As I finally finish and wipe tears of laughter from my eyes, she trots up to me and starts off, "Hello! It's good to meet you! I hope I was able to make you feel-"

"-Welcome?" I cut her off there.

"How'd you know I was gonna say that? Are you a psychic?" She's starts hopping in place again, though not up to my eye level this time.

"Um, no, it's just… a lucky guess." Really, how can she have so much energy?

"Okay, then. So what's your name?"

"Leon. Leon Jefferson. And you are?" I offer her a hand, which she manages to shake while still hopping in place.

"I'm Pinkie Pie. My friends call me Pinkie. Since we're gonna be friends, that's what you can call me!" She lets go of my hand and finally stands still, still smiling.

Fluttershy speaks up, seemingly even quieter than usual compared to that show a minute ago. "Leon just showed up a couple of days ago at Applejack's farm. That's where I met him."

"What!?" Pinkie screams, "He's been here two whole days and we hadn't met yet? How in Equestria did that happen?"

"Um, just unlucky, I suppose?" I answer. She does seem pretty hard to miss.

Fluttershy continues, "Pinkie, we were just headed to Sugar Cube Corner for lunch. Would you like to join us?"

Pinkie seems to get even more excited. "Ooh, I'll do one better than that. I'll meet you there and make you lunch myself! What would you two like?"

Fluttershy looks to me first, to which I shrug in reply. I've no idea what this place serves. Seeing my response, she says "Um, I was thinking of getting a blueberry muffin and a slice of cheesecake."

That sounds delicious. "Same here, I think."

"Okii dokey lokey!" With that, she is gone again, presumably to get our order ready.

Once I see that she is gone, I sigh and let a "Wow…"

As we resume walking in the same direction Pinkie left, Fluttershy looks up to me. "Too much for you?"

I scratch the back of my neck as I think on it. "Not really, I guess. She seems like a lot of fun, but…yeah, maybe a bit too much energy."

She chuckles at that. "Pinkie always gets excited to meet new friends. I'm sure she'll calm down when you two get to know each other."

As we approach our destination, I mumble, "I hope so…"

Sugar Cube Corner is another construction marvel. The entire building looks like a very large and elaborate gingerbread house, complete with icing and gumdrops. I'm tempted to try taking a bite, but surely even ponies would not really build houses out of food. Right? As we enter, I'm greeted with the scent of bread and sugary treats. It looks like a relatively simple bakery, besides the bright color scheme.

Behind the low counter is a pony with blue fur, pink cup cake shaped hair, and wearing an apron. "Hi there, Fluttershy. And you must be Leon. Have a seat, I'm sure Pinkie will be out with your orders shortly."

There are several small tables in the corner, none of which are occupied. Fluttershy and I approach and take our seats, me being glad to have a stool here instead of hay piles. It doesn't take very long before Pinkie comes out carrying a large tray on her back, loaded with plates. She smiles and walks up to our table. "I hope you're ready for a real treat, Leon!"

She unloads two plates of cheesecake slices, a plate filled with several muffins, and another with cupcakes. Stashing the tray behind the counter, she returns and takes a seat with us. "Help yourselves, there's plenty." With that she picks up a cupcake, tosses it in the air and chomps the whole thing down in one bite.

Fluttershy takes a muffin and starts to slowly eat, while I decide to start with the cheesecake. My taste buds are overwhelmed as I take the first bite. This cake is just to die for, and might actually cause me to keel over with all the fat and sugar in it. It's totally worth it though.

Pinkie notices my expression and asks, "Do you like it, Leon?"

I can barely focus enough to answer, "My god, what do you put in this? It's incredible!"

"Hehe, I can't tell you that, it's a trade secret." As we start to talk, Pinkie tells me about how the Cakes (the couple that runs the bakery. I know, more irony, right?) are not just her bosses, but also her landlords, as she both works and lives here, renting the loft upstairs. She then asks me about how I got here, and I go through the story again as best I can, covering how Applejack found me and Fluttershy later welcomed me.

She comments at that point, "That was super nice of AJ to let you stay with them. Do you like it out at the farm?"

I swallow the mouthful of muffin that I just bit into before answering, "Well, I wasn't sure I would at first, but it's kind of grown on me. It helps that Applejack and her family have been so kind to me. They've welcomed me like I'm one of the family." They both smile at that.

Fluttershy wipes her mouth with a napkin and then speaks. "I'm glad to hear that things are going so well for you, Leon. Do you think you're going to stay here?"

That question stops me cold. I've hardly thought about it since speaking to Twilight yesterday. "Um… I'm not sure. This place really is amazing… and it's true I don't exactly have much of a life back home… I don't know, Fluttershy. I'm not even sure if I have any choice in the matter."

They both look a bit sullen at that, Fluttershy especially looking like she regrets asking the question. After a moment, Pinkie speaks up, "Either of you want seconds on the cheesecake?"

Fluttershy seems to brighten up, although she shakes her head no, and I answer, "No, thank you though. I think I'm about full actually. So how much do I owe you, Pinkie?"

"Don't worry about it, silly. It's on the house today, what with you being new to Ponyville and all." Pinkie starts to gather up the plates, tossing one more cupcake into her maw while she is at it.

Confound these ponies and their kindness. Oh well, I'm not even going to try and fight it this time. "Thanks, Pinkie, I appreciate it. Please let me pay next time though, okay?"

"Okey Dokey, but you might get a teensy, weensy bit of a discount, since you have a friend that works here. I'll see you two around!" With that she heads back to the kitchen carrying the dishes.

As Fluttershy and I head to the exit after saying goodbye to Mrs. Cake, I say to my companion, "Okay, I changed my mind. Pinkie's alright in my book."

Fluttershy lets out an almost silent laugh, "I thought you might. Well, I should be getting home to take care of the animals. Can you find your way back to Rarity's from here?"

"I think so. Thanks again for everything, Fluttershy. I'll see you." Rather than say anything she hops up and gives me another hug. I think I could get used to all this hugging, especially with these ponies all being so adorable. I pat her mane for a few seconds, before she lets go and starts to head home. I turn and start walking back toward Carousel Boutique.

Or at least I thought I was. I figured it was just a straight walk down this street, but I'm not seeing any sign of it. I cut over to the next street and start walking back the way I came, scanning all around for it. As I pause, about to go over to a third street, I notice that I'm apparently being followed. Out of the corner of my eye I see a unicorn walking behind me, obviously staring right at me.

She seems to be mostly a light mint green, with her mane and tail being slightly darker and each containing a white stripe. Her eyes are a bright amber shade, and her cutie mark seems to be some kind of artsy looking harp. I'm not sure what to think of being followed. Remembering that I've yet to meet any ponies with an ounce of ill will in their bodies, I decide to just talk to her. I turn and walk to her. She looks like she wants to run but is frozen in place. As, I reach her, I say, "Hi, my name's Leon. Is there something I can do for you?"

She looks nervous, but she does put on a large smile. "Uh, no...well, sort of. I was just kind of hoping to… talk to you?"

This is a bit random. "Ok, sure, but would you mind if I ask why?"

She averts her eyes for a second before looking back to me again, still nervous. "Oh it's just, you know, you're very… interesting looking. In a good way, I mean!" She tacks that last on as my expression changes. I suppose I could take 'interesting' as a compliment this time.

"That's… good to know. So what did you want to talk about?" She gives me an expression that says it should be obvious. And it is, once I think about it. "Ah, me, of course. Well, while we talk, would you mind showing me the way to Carousel Boutique?"

"I don't mind," she says with a slight shake of her head. At least she is calming down a bit now. "You're quite a ways off though, if that's where you were headed. Are you lost?"

I scratch my forehead. "Well, I didn't know that I was."

She giggles and then turns and starts walking back up the street. "By the way, my name is Lyra Heartstrings."

"It's good to meet you, Lyra. Thank you for your help." I get up beside her and match her pace.

"Don't mention it," she says. "So, Leon, where are you from?" I start to tell her of my mysterious appearance here, and give a vague description of earth. When she asks me what I did there, I explain to her about college life and how I was just beginning to live on my own.

When I mention living alone, she asks, "So that means you're not married?"

I give her a bit of a look, as that wasn't really the point of what I was saying. "Um, no, I'm not."

She starts to look a bit nervous again. "Oh, good, neither am I. Wait, not that being single is good, but I… just mean that we have something in common. You know?"

Honestly, I don't know. I'm starting to get a weird vibe from this, but surely I'm wrong.

"So, I've got to ask, Leon. Are all humans as good looking as you?" she says, trying to sound casual.

Dang it, I'm not wrong. She's really is trying to flirt with me. Does she seriously think that this is even a possibility? "Um, no, I'd say I actually rank pretty low in the looks department."

"Really? I find that hard to believe, hehe." Thankfully, Carousel Boutique finally comes into view at this point. I'll be glad to end this conversation.

"Well, there it is. Thanks again for your help." I turn toward her, smiling.

"Oh, it was my pleasure, Leon. I guess I should get going. I'm supposed to be meeting up with a friend pretty soon. Let's meet again, alright?" She makes that request as she starts to walk away, looking to me over her shoulder.

"Sure thing, Lyra. Goodbye." She flashes a smile before looking back where she is going and trotting off.

I let out a sigh, before heading inside the building. I'm still sort of weirded out by the fact that a pony was flirting with me. I mean, I guess they're not really animals but… eh I don't know what to think.

Hearing the bell tingle, Rarity walks out to the entry room and greets me. "Ah, Darling, you've returned. Perfect timing if I do say so myself. I just finished one full set of clothes, and I'd like for you to try them on before I start on anymore."

"Sounds great, Rarity. Did you have any trouble?" I ask her as we head into the back room with the platform.

"Oh, you know, nothing too serious. I don't exactly have a ponyquin in your shape, but I managed." With that, she floats a pile of very neatly folded clothing over to me with her magic.

Wow, these look really professional. I'm about to ask where I can change when Rarity continues. "The restroom is upstairs, second door on your left. And please do feel free to use the shower. I don't wish to be rude, but you need it, I think. You can use any of the soaps, Darling."

I can't really argue with that. Although I've been bathing, I've still been wearing the same clothes for three days. Plus, I did do quite a bit of sweating this morning. "Thanks, Rarity. I'll be back down in a bit."

I head upstairs and walk toward the restroom. I hear a couple small voices coming from one of the other rooms. The fillies, I presume. Well, I enter the restroom, closing the door behind me and quickly strip and hop into the shower. Rarity's shower has the same height problem as Applejack's but I manage. A quick wash later, I'm out and dressed in the new clothes.

The shirt is a long sleeve button up, with the pattern being a red and blue plaid. The pants are jeans, like I requested, but they have some rather fancy stitching around the pockets and down the legs. She also managed to make a thin, white v-neck t-shirt for underneath, a pair of white tube socks, and some black boxers. Everything seems to fit great, and I have to say that I do like the style.

I head downstairs, carrying my old clothes under one arm. As I reenter the back room, Rarity turns from what she is working on to gaze at me. "Oh, Darling, you do look smashing, I must say." She canters over and slowly circles me. "Is it comfortable? I was worried about not getting it right since I'm not perfectly familiar with how humans move."

I nod and stretch my arms out. "It fits perfectly, Rarity, thank you. I've never had custom made clothes before."

"Oh, don't mention it. Like I said, this is what I live for. I'm happy that you are satisfied." At that, she gently takes my old clothes out of my grip using her magic and holds them several feet away from herself, trying to hide a look of unease. "I'll just have these, um, washed for you and you can pick them when you come back for the rest of your ensemble. If that's alright with you, of course."

I smile and nod, "That works for me. When would you like me back here?"

Dumping the dirty clothes in a basket nearby, she puts a hoof to her mouth and thinks. "I think I can have most of what you requested, if not all of it, completed by tomorrow. How about stopping back by after lunch, hmm?"

"Sounds good, I don't have any plans for tomorrow yet, so I'll come by then. I guess I should get going. The girls wanted to have a CMC meeting, I think." I head back toward the front room, as Rarity calls out, "Okay then, Darling, ta ta."

I climb up the stairs and call out, "Applebloom? You up here?"

A door down the hall opens and the two fillies step out. Applebloom addresses me, "Hi, Leon. What's up? Whoa, nice clothes!" With that, they both run up to me and start looking me over.

Sweetie comments as well, "Yeah, Leon, you look great. Did Rarity make all that for you?"

I kneel down, petting both their manes, "Yep, she did really well, didn't she? So, I'm ready to go if you two are."

They both smile and hop in place. Sweetie answers me, "We're ready, I think. Let me go grab something real quick, though." She takes off back down the hall, presumably to her room.

As I watch her go, I hear from beside me in an extra cute tone, "Leon?" I look back to Applebloom to see her holding her forelegs up and giving me the puppy dog eyes. Understanding what she wants, I pick her up and place her up behind my head again, holding her rear legs steady. She, of course, giggles through the whole process, and once she is in place, says, "Thanks, Leon." Man, cuteness of that level should not even be legal.

Sweetie comes running back out wearing a saddlebag. "Okay, let's go!" Once back in front of me, she looks up and says, "Aw, not fair, Applebloom."

I'm sure 'Bloom is smiling at her. I answer for her though. "Sorry Sweetie, I only seat one. Next time okay?" We head downstairs and out the front entrance.

Thinking of AJ, I ask the two fillies, "Hey, you two want to stop by and see Applejack real quick?" They both give their permission for the detour, and we start the walk over to the market. The crowds are starting to die down as we approach the stand being worked by a familiar orange pony. We wait while she finishes helping her last couple of customers.

Once they leave, I walk up next to the stand, still carrying Applebloom while Sweetie Belle walks beside me. "Hey there, Applejack. You about done here?"

She nods while sliding the bits she just received into a sack. "Yep, just sold the last of what we brought. Wow, nice duds there, Leon." She gives me a quick once over.

Applebloom comments as well, "Yeah, Rarity was able to help him out. Isn't he suuuper handsome, Sis?" Something about the way she says that makes me uncomfortable.

To get her back, I reach up and tickle her side for a second, eliciting a few giggles. AJ chuckles at the sight before continuing. "She's right, Leon, you don't look half bad in that getup."

I'm trying to not blush and just play it off casually. "Thanks, AJ. So, are you ready to go?"

"Yep, just a minute," she answers. She drops a couple small sacks of bits into the back of the cart and starts hooking back up again. As she finishes, Sweetie hops up to the front of the cart, but the sight gives me an idea.

"Actually, Applebloom, would you mind riding with Applejack, so I can give Sweetie a ride?" I can't see 'Bloom's expression, of course, since she is behind my head, but Sweetie's face lights up.

Applebloom is quick to answer, "Sure thing, Leon." I then bring her down and gingerly place her on the cart next to Sweetie. I then face the other little filly and hold out my arms. She jumps at me, causing a small "oof" to escape as she collides with me. I then carefully bring her up to my shoulders, where she starts wiggling around looking in every direction from her new vantage point.

With Sweetie in place and AJ hooked to the cart, we start to leave. Realizing, that we are missing someone, I ask Applebloom, "Hey, 'Bloom where's your other friend, Scootaloo? Should we pick her up somewhere?"

Applebloom turns her head toward me from where she is sitting, enjoying the ride. "Oh don't worry about Scootaloo. She'll meet us at the clubhouse."

"Clubhouse?" I echo. "Where do you girls have a clubhouse?"

"It's back at Sweet Apple Acres. Sis gave it to us a while back, and we fixed it up." Huh, that makes sense. There's certainly plenty of room at the farm, while allowing them to be near one of the fillies homes.

As we amble along, I talk to AJ about my lunch with Fluttershy and how we met Pinkie Pie. She chuckles at Pinkie's antics and tells me about how I should be careful, as Pinkie can be quite the prankster. She asks about my clothing order with Rarity, and I tell her about how I'll need to head back tomorrow to pick up the rest. I don't bring up the conversation with Lyra. While I really want to talk to someone about it, it feels like that would just be way too embarrassing to talk with AJ about. Particularly in front of the girls.

Eventually, we reach the entrance to SAA. Once we walk through the large entry archway, AJ speaks up. "Well, you all probably want to be heading to your meeting, huh?"

Up above me, Sweetie yells, "Yeah, let's go."

I look to Applebloom. "Okay, lead the way, then." As we walk off into the orchard, I call back to AJ, "See you later, Applejack."

After a couple minutes, a tree house comes into view. For a children's clubhouse, it looks pretty well built. The outside walls are painted a pale tan, while the shingles are a dark maroon. It includes several glass windows and a long wooden ramp leading up to the entrance. I suppose that ponies would have trouble using a ladder to get up there.

While I'm bringing Sweetie down to the ground, I'm looking around for any sign of the third crusader. "Where's Scootaloo? I thought she was meeting us here."

Almost as if on cue, the sound of a small motor can be heard coming from the path we just walked down. After a few seconds, Scootaloo zooms onto the scene riding a scooter. It's mostly blue, and she's wearing a dark purple helmet with two white racing stripes. Amazingly, it seems the sound is coming from her tiny wings buzzing, as she is able to use them for the entirety of her propulsion.

She turns and skids to a stop right in front of the ramp, wearing a bit of a daredevil grin as she does so. As she starts to remove her helmet, she calls out to us, "Hi, girls… and Leon."

I chuckle at that. "Hey, Scootaloo. What have you been up to?"

"Oh you know, the usual. Rainbow Dash was helping me practice some new scooter tricks." She tosses her helmet next to the scooter and trots over to her friends. As the fillies go through their greetings, I wonder to myself if Scootaloo could be RD's sister. They have similar hair styles, they're both pegasi, and they both seem to have a need for speed.

Deciding to ask her about it some other time, I follow the girls as they start heading over to the clubhouse. I'm a bit apprehensive as to whether the ramp will hold, but as I take a couple tentative steps, I find that it's much stronger than it looks. The girls all zip through the door, but I have to stop and get down on my hands and knees before crawling through the small entrance.

In the time that it takes for me to crawl through, it seems that all three fillies have put on capes. They're red with a blue shield logo. The shield seems to portray a yellow outline of a foal rearing up on it's hind legs. The clubhouse consists of a single room, with a couple tiny tables covered with random items and some posters and maps taped to the walls.

Applebloom, who's positioning herself behind a small podium, says, "You ready to start the ceremony, Leon?"

Ceremony? "Uh, sure, I guess." I sit cross legged near the center of the room.

At that, Scootaloo starts to beat out a slow rhythm on some bongos. 'Bloom looks over to Sweetie and says, "The scroll, please." Sweetie Belle walks over carrying a tiny scroll on her head. Once next to the podium, she tosses it on top and then takes a seat nearby. Applebloom clears her throat and removes the ribbon from the scroll. As she tries to open it, it gets away from her and unrolls completely. My jaw drops as it just keeps unrolling across the floor until it reaches the opposite wall.

Applebloom was apparently not expecting this length either, as she looks to Scootloo and says, "I thought you were going to cut this down after last time?" Scootaloo responds with a shrug and "Well, I removed a couple lines…"

We all look on as Applebloom struggles to gain control over the huge paper, before she eventually lets out a "Agh, nevermind" and tosses it aside. "How's about we just say…." At this, all three fillies simultaneously throw their hooves up into the air and yell, "Welcome to the Cutie Mark Crusaders!"

I chuckle at their silliness before answering. "Thanks girls. Is that all there is to it?"

Sweetie Belle speaks up here. "Not quite. Now that you're one of us, you get your very own Cutie Mark Crusader cape!" She walks over and starts to remove something from her saddlebag that was sitting in a corner. She then hoofs it to me, and I start to unfold it. Sure enough, it's a red cape just like theirs, but much larger.

"Wow, did you make this yourself, Sweetie?"

She grins sheepishly. "Mostly. Rarity might have helped a bit."

"Well, it looks great, thank you." I pick her up and give her a hug, using one arm to motion the other two over as well. They both leap at me and I manage to get my arms around all three fillies for a few seconds. As I place them back down, Scootaloo says, "Come on, Leon, you gotta try on the cape!"

"Alright, alright. I think I need to do it outside though, since the ceiling is a bit too low for me in here." I start to crawl back outside and, once back on the small porch, I stand back up to my full height. The three fillies walk out after me, watching as I tie the cape around my neck.

Once it's in place, I turn to face them. "How does it look?"

Applebloom let's a "Wow," and Scootaloo says "Awesome!" Sweetie just nods enthusiastically.

Rubbing my neck, I say, "Heh, thanks girls. So what do we do now that that's done with?"

They look back and forth at each other before Applebloom speaks up. "Well, usually we spend meetings planning new things to try and get our cutie marks. But since this is your first get together I motion that we… play tag!"

They all simultaneously yell out "Not It!" before sprinting down the ramp, giggling like mad.

I wait a couple seconds before chasing after them. "Very funny girls!" I try to go easy on them, since they're not too fast with their short legs. I quickly find that they have much more endurance than me, though.

After about half an hour of running and laughing, I drop down and sit near the clubhouse ramp, calling out, "Okay, girls, I lose. You're too much for me!" Sitting there breathing hard, I don't hear an answer or even any movement.

Just as I'm wondering where they've gotten to, I'm suddenly tackled from the right by all three fillies as they yell, "Sneak attack!" We're all laughing as we playfully wrestle for a moment, before I pretend to be pinned to the ground with Scootaloo standing on my chest and Sweete Bell and Applebloom wresting their forelegs on my shoulders. "Come on, girls, that was a cheap shot there."

Scootaloo grins victoriously. "You shouldn't let your guard down, Leon."

As they all climb off of me and I stand back to my feet, dusting myself off, Applebloom speaks next. "Well, as much fun as this is, Leon and I should probably be heading back for supper." Sweetie and Scoots both agree that they should be getting home as well. We all hang up our capes in the clubhouse and then meet up out front.

Sweetie is adjusting her saddlebag as she says, "This was a lot of fun, we've got to get together again real soon."

The other two nod and I answer, "Definitely."

With that, we all say our farewells and Scoots and Sweetie start heading toward the main entrance to SAA while Applebloom and I head back to the house. As we walk along, Applebloom tells me about some of the ways that they've tried getting cutie marks, including many that ended quite comically. She's telling me about the time they tried bowling, and just as the house is coming into view, Big Mac walks up alongside of us.

Looks like he's coming back from somewhere else on the property, headed to the house as well. "Hey there, Sis, Leon."

I wave as I greet him. "Hey, Big Mac. What's up?"

"Nothing much. Just repairing a couple of fences. How 'bout you two?"

Applebloom speaks up somewhat excitedly. "We just got finished inducting Leon into the Cutie Mark Crusaders!"

He looks at me and smiles. "How did that go?"

"It was… fun." I think that's the best way to describe their little ceremony and then hanging out. "I'm looking forward to more meetings."

He chuckles as we continue walking. "That's good to hear. Just don't go letting these little fillies get you into trouble. Sometimes their get-togethers can get out of hoof."

"Hey, I'm not little!" Applebloom calls out. I look down at the very epitome of 'little,' and smile. I also note how she does not deny the comment about getting into trouble.

"I'll try, thanks for the tip."

We enter through the front door, and Big Mac walks off, presumably to stow his tools somewhere. As he leaves, he says, "You two should probably wash up before dinner."

Applebloom and I look at each other before plodding upstairs to the restroom. We both wash our hands (well, hooves and hands) and then wash our faces as well. Applebloom heads out as I'm drying off my face, and I'm left alone inspecting my image in the mirror. I'm getting a good bit of stubble by this point, reminding me that I forgot to get a razor while I was shopping with AJ. I'll need to pick one up at some point, I guess.

I head back downstairs and meet the Apple family at the dinner table, where they already have the meal set out. We take our seats and dig in. As we eat, Applebloom brings up the topic of heading to the swimming hole again. She's suggesting we go tomorrow, before the weekend is over.

AJ looks to me and asks, "What do you think, Leon? You want to go for a swim tomorrow?"

"Hmm, yeah, sounds good to me, but I've got to go and meet Rarity to pick up my other clothes after the bucking tomorrow. I asked her to make some swim trunks, so that should work out fine."

AJ nods. "Okay, so let's plan on that, then. Though, you don't have to worry about buckin' tomorrow. With it being Sunday and all, the market'll be closed. We only need to bring in a bit for ourselves, so you could just head to town early, if you want."

I'm glad to hear that the ponies observe a weekly day of rest, too. "Cool, yeah, I'll do that. Maybe I can go talk to Twilight, in that case."

As the conversation turns to other topics, I fall mostly silent and just observe the family scene before me. As Big Mac and Granny starting joking around with Applebloom, I think about how great it would be to have grown up with family like this. That thought makes me go a bit sullen, though, as I'm reminded about my brother. After a couple minutes, I excuse myself and return my dishes to the kitchen. AJ looks a bit concerned as I leave, but does not say anything. I suppose she's noticed my change in demeanor.

I head out the back door and wander over near the barn. I decide to just take a seat against the outside of the barn, much as I did earlier today, and watch as the last hints of the sunset disappear. I sigh, remembering my home again. Honestly, my life kind of sucked when I think about it now. I didn't have any real social life, I was not real successful with my classes, I had no idea where I was headed in life. The only bright spot was my brother.

As I sit there remembering, I don't even notice AJ approaching until she plops down next to me. "Something wrong, sugarcube?"

"Not really," I lie at first, "Well, okay, sort of. I'm just remembering. Seeing you and your family together reminded me of my brother. He was my only real friend and all of my family."

AJ turns from looking at me to stare over the now dark orchard before us. "I'm sorry, Leon, I wish there was something I could do to get you home. Please keep in mind that we're all happy to have you here, though." She puts one foreleg around my shoulders before continuing. "Especially Applebloom."

Being reminded of the little filly does lift my spirit a bit. I have to admit that I'm starting to think of her as the little sister that I never had.

After a moment of silence between us, AJ speaks up again. "You want to tell me about your brother? I don't think you've even mentioned his name."

Hmm, I guess I haven't. "His name is Drew…"

AJ smiles, still holding me in a one arm hug. "Well, what's he like? Is he much like you?"

I smile in response, still looking out into the darkness. "Not really. I'm told that we look a lot alike, but we have very different personalities. While I've always been a bit of an introvert, he's always been a real socialite. He spent a lot of time trying to keep me involved with his friends." I go on describing him for a while, telling AJ about some of the things we did when we were little and how Drew was planning to go into medicine since he was ten years old.

AJ mostly just listens, making a few comments or asking questions. I have to admit, I do feel a lot better. After a lull in the conversation, "Applejack…thank you. This was nice, being able to talk about my brother."

She gives me a tight squeeze with that foreleg before finally releasing me. "Anytime, Sugarcube. If you ever need to talk about anything, I'm here for you. We're friends after all, right?"

I nod. "For sure. You and your whole family have made me feel right at home here. Your friends have been wonderful too."

We go back to sitting in silence for a while, albeit a much more content one this time. After a while, AJ yawns and then stands up. "It's getting late, Leon. It's probably time to hit the hay."

I look out over the orchard one more time, noting its beauty in the moonlight, before I sigh and then stand as well. "Yeah, you're right."

We start heading back to the house. Walking in the entrance, AJ comments that she's gonna go check if Granny could use any help with cleaning up from dinner. We say our goodnights to each other and I head upstairs. I'm heading to my room, but as I pass Applebloom's door, it opens and she pops her head out. "Leon?"

I turn and kneel down to her, asking what's up. She answers, "I was wondering if you're alright. I saw how sad you looked earlier."

I give her a big grin. "I'm much better now, 'Bloom. Your sister came and cheered me up."

A small smile breaks across her face. "I'm glad to hear that, Leon. Are you goin' to bed now?" After I nod in response, she holds her front legs up again to me. I chuckle and pick her up, giving her a hug. This time however, she does something new and nuzzles her cheek against mine. While it feels kind of weird to me, it does seem very sweet coming from her. I'm guessing that it's just something that ponies do. As she pulls away and looks me in the eye, she says, "Goodnight, Leon."

"Goodnight, 'Bloom." I place her back down and she enters her room. I stand back up and continue on towards my own.

As I get undressed, I decide to skip the reading tonight and just go straight to bed. I'm crawl under the covers and make myself comfortable. As I doze off, I'm thinking about how great it is to finally have friends like Fluttershy, Applejack, and Applebloom. I'm also looking forward to getting to know the others that I've met thus far.

Autor's note: Chapter three is complete! Fyi, I'm trying to stay about two chapters ahead of what I post. So far, I have about 40,000 written up in total so far.


	4. Chapter 4

Author's note: Hi there, everyone. Well, chapter 4 is up now, and I'm nearing the end of the introductory arc, I guess. I want to go ahead and say that my goal from now on will be to post a chapter each Friday, though of course I can't really commit to it. I've slowed down the last few days dealing with final exams and my first case of writer's block in chapter 6. I'm hoping to start going strong again next week.

As always, critiques and advice are very welcome. I'm loving learning about the writing process through this and your alls feedback has been so uplifting and helpful. I hope I'm not overdoing the scenes with Applebloom, but I gotta say that I do love em.

Again, feel free to PM me if you just want to talk ponies or stories or whatever. Okay, enough from me. Stay awesome, everybrony!

Prophet21: I'm sad to say that I'm not planning to use that character too much. Just a couple more scenes before they fade out, probably. It's gonna be about Applejack, mostly. So sorry to disappoint you, man!

Chapter 4:

When I wake up today, I'm surprised to find that it's actually earlier than usual and without someone having to come wake me up. I sit up and start to stretch out my back like usual. Egh. While I'm not too sore, I'm certainly feeling all that lifting I did yesterday. I stand up and take a look out the window. Looks like the sun is only halfway risen. I guess going to sleep a bit earlier caused me to awake early.

Well, after a couple of minutes watching the sunrise, I realize I should get moving. I start getting dressed, grateful that I have some relatively clean clothing this time. Once dressed, I head down the hall to use the restroom and brush my teeth. That done, I decide to head downstairs and see if anypony is up.

I don't see anyone, but I do hear some small noises coming from the kitchen. I peek inside and spot Granny Smith looking through the fridge, slowly moving ingredients to the counter. "Good morning, Granny Smith. Would you like some help?"

She turns to see who it is and smiles. "Well good morning yourself, Darlin. Sure, I'd appreciate a little help. You know much 'bout makin' omelets?"

"Um, not really." I'm ashamed to say that I survived my freshman year mostly on instant noodles.

"Well, that ain't a problem. You can do the choppin', and I'll do the cookin', alright?" She motions me over to the counter.

"Sounds good to me." I start out by helping her finish gathering ingredients, and then she sets me up with a knife and a cutting board. While she starts heating up the stove and grabbing a couple pans, I start chopping the veggies, including tomato, onion, and oddly enough, carrots. That's a new one to me, but I'm not going to question her recipe. Once done with that, I help her crack and beat the eggs, which she then starts pouring into the pans.

During the whole process, Granny keep me entertained with her stories. She recounts how her family first moved here and the planting of the first apple trees. She tells me particularly about how they got through the first years by harvesting a magical variant of apple called zap apples.

At about this point, AJ pokes her head through the door before entering entirely. "Aw shucks, Leon. You takin' over my job in here?" She says with a good natured smile.

"Heh, sorry. I was just up early and found Granny working in here by herself. I thought I'd do the gentlemanly thing and help out, you know." I'm working on cutting up some fresh fruit while I reply.

AJ nods, still grinning. "All right, I can let it slide this time. So what's for breakfast?"

We resume the conversation from before, with Granny sharing the family's history with me. I finish cutting up enough extra fruit and then just lean against the counter near AJ, listening and watching. She continues telling me their history while making some of the most perfect looking omelets I've ever seen. After I watch the way she folds several, she asks if I want to try it. I step over and accept the spatula from her. While I'm able to get it started, loaded with the veggies, and folded, when it comes time to flip it, I manage to somehow beak it several different ways. When I comment on how I'll be having scrambled instead, both the mares share a small laugh.

As we are getting just about finished, AJ states that she is going to make sure Applebloom is up. She heads out while I help Granny get all the omelets onto one platter and the chopped fruit into a large bowl for something of a fruit salad. We each carry one of the dishes into the dining room, where I see Mac reading a newspaper, and set them on the table. I then help her with bringing in plates and glasses, along with some silverware for myself and a large serving spoon for the salad. Finally, Granny brings out a large pitcher of orange juice.

Just as we are taking our seats, AJ and a very sleepy looking Applebloom come walking down the stairs. "Applebloom, I've told you that you shouldn't stay up late reading like that."

I suppress a smirk upon hearing that. After they take their seats, AJ starts serving out breakfast. It's as delicious as usual, and I help myself to a second omelet. The conversation turns to everyone's plans for today. Big Mac states that he wants to head into town to pick up some supplies for repairs. AJ's going to get the small bit of bucking done, but doesn't have much planned after that. It seems Granny is going to do her usual thing, and just sort of hang around, rest, and do some canning. Applebloom states that she has some reading to do for class, but asks me if I'm still planning to go swimming this afternoon.

"Yep, that's the plan. I think I'm gonna go talk to Twilight this morning and maybe check out a book or two. I've got to stop by Rarity's as well, but she asked me to wait until after lunch. You want to plan on meeting up here after that?"

AJ speaks before Applebloom can answer, "Actually, how's about Applebloom and I just meet you for lunch in Ponyville, so we can help you carry your clothing afterward? Want to meet at the same restaurant from Friday?"

I nod. I'm probably going to need the help, plus I'll surely enjoy spending time with them. "That'd be great, thanks."

With that, we soon finish up breakfast and start heading to our separate tasks. I say goodbye to everyone, making sure to give Applebloom a quick hug, before I head out the door. It feels sort of strange to be by myself for once, though maybe a bit refreshing. There's a very slight sense of accomplishment in knowing where I'm going and what I'm doing in this world… at least for today.

When I reach Ponyville, I head through the main street where the market is. Like AJ said, I don't see any of the stalls being manned, I mean ponied. There's still a good bit of hoof traffic, though not nearly as much as the other day when AJ and I were shopping here. I'm still getting a lot of stares as well. There are a lot of ponies who just stop what they're doing to watch me walk past.

Eventually, I work my way through town all the way to the library. As I approach though, the front door swings open and Spike walks out, his arms full of scrolls. I walk up to him and speak, though I doubt h can see me over all the papers. "Hey, Spike, what are you up to?"

He turns slightly so as to see around his load. "Oh it's you, Leon. What's up? I'm just making some deliveries."

I'm a bit confused hearing that. "Deliveries? I thought this was just a library?"

"Well, yeah, but a lot of ponies around here request Twilight for help finding different types of information that they might not be able to find on their own. Of course, Twilight being Twilight, it's no problem for her."

Hmm, that makes sense I guess. I step out of his way as I say, "Okay, well, don't let me hold you up then."

"See ya later, Leon," I hear as he walks off.

I walk up to the door and find that it is still slightly open. I slowly open it and poke my head inside. "Hello?" I don't see anyone around. I step inside, closing the door behind myself. As I walk toward the center of the room, where those sofas and the table are, I call out again, a bit louder. "Hello? Twilight, you here?" Why didn't I ask Spike if she was in?

Suddenly I hear from upstairs, "Just a minute!" A couple seconds later she comes cantering down the stairs. "Oh, hi there, Leon! What can I do for you?"

I wave to her in greeting, as she walks up to me. "Hi, Twilight. I was actually hoping to just talk, if you don't mind."

She brightens up, probably excited to get that 'interview.' "Of course, Leon. I've always got time for a friend. First though, would you like some tea?" After I nod, she says, "Okay, I'll be right back then. Feel free to have a seat." She then heads off into the kitchen.

I decide to go ahead and have a seat on the sofa. Despite being so low, it's fairly comfortable. I wait for several minutes before Twilight comes back, levitating that same tea set from before in her magic. As she brings it down to the table, one cup floats up and over to me. I take it out of the air and give her my thanks. Twilight decides to add a bit of sugar to her drink this time, while I opt for just honey again.

After Twilight takes a sip of her tea, she speaks. "So was there anything in particular that you wanted to talk about, Leon?"

I think on this. My goal was sort of just to learn more about this world, but I had not taken the time to pick any questions ahead of time. "Um, how about you start us off."

She smiles as she floats a scroll and quill over to herself. "Well, I'd like to know more about your people. How about telling me about the most important part of civilization. What are human families like?"

I try to think through what I should say before speaking. "Well, um, I'm not too certain where to start…" I eventually start telling her the basic structure of families, how there's a mom, a dad and usually several children. "By and large, marriages are monogamous and for life, ideally. Homosexual relationships have been increasing in numbers, though some say they should not be allowed. Often times, the father is the provider while the mother either works as well or focuses on raising the children. The children are typically considered adults once they turn eighteen years of age, though they can stay with their families until they are married themselves. Divorces are fairly common, and many children grow up with only one parent."

I have to stop and explain divorce, which gives Twilight a sad expression. "So they just decide to stop being married?" She asks. When I nod, she continues, "That's terrible. Pony marriages can't end like that. In extreme cases, ponies might stay away from each other for a while, but they are still considered married."

She goes on to explain more about pony families. Apparently, there are a lot of similarities in family relationships with humans. They usually only have one or two foals, however. Ponies typically start the adult phase of their lives at age 15 or so. I'm surprised when she explains that polygamy is largely accepted here, since the gender ratio is heavily skewed toward females. I've noticed myself how there are far fewer stallions than mares, but this idea still bothers me a bit.

"I just don't understand. How would anyone be able to share family like that? I can't imagine trying to love someone with less than my everything. Seems like that would make for some really strained family situations."

Twilight nods, not meeting my gaze. "Well, many mares just consider it better to share relationships than to end up alone. Of course, there are many ponies who see marriage the same way that you do, but still consider polygamy a viable option for those in need."

I don't know, it just seems too weird. I decide to change the subject. "Okay, how about this. What can you tell me about magic? Where does it come from, and why do only unicorns have it?"

She looks back to me again, an excited grin crossing her face. "Oh, good questions. Though, they actually go together somewhat. You see, magic comes from all living things, and as such, all ponies actually possess magic."

When I give her a quizzical expression, she continues. "You see, it's true that unicorns are the only ones to be able to use their magic outside of themselves as you've seen, but that's only because they have horns to help focus it. Pegasi and earth ponies each have their own unique magic capabilities. Earth ponies are especially strong, but also excel at growing and controlling plants." Hmm, maybe that explains the amazing way that AJ can harvest apples. "Pegasi use their magic to fly, essentially reducing gravities pull on themselves whenever they want. They can also interact with clouds and control the weather."

While the weather control is mind blowing, the flight magic almost makes sense to me. "Huh, I'd been wondering about that. Pegasi wings looks way too small for flight. They just don't have enough surface area to provide the necessary lift. Plus, I've seen some pegasi who can stay up while barely flapping at all. Being able to control your own weight would make that much easier." I'm trying to think of more possible applications for that when I notice Twilight staring at me with a bit of a dreamy expression.

She snaps out of it when I ask what the problem is. "Oh, nothing. That was just… It's nice to hear someone else with an analytical thought process."

I just shrug, not thinking much of it. "I don't know about that. So wait, are ponies jobs chosen for them based on which race they are?"

She shakes her head and answers after another sip from her drink. "No, we're free to follow our passions, though of course there are obvious limitations. For example, earth ponies can't exactly help with the weather, and unicorns are usually terrible at gardening. A ponies occupation is typically, though not always, related to their cutie mark, since it represents their unique talent in life."

I have to ask it here. "So what does your cutie mark represent, anyway? Are you an astronomer?"

She glances to the stars on her flank before speaking. "No, it actually means… magic."

"Magic?" I echo, raising one eyebrow.

She grins sheepishly, and I try to clarify. "So if magic is useful for so many things, then you're basically good at… everything?"

She starts to blush at bit. "Well, not exactly. Um, I… I guess you could just say I really enjoy learning and using magic."

I suppose a passion for learning would go well with being a librarian. We continue chatting, with me doing my best to describe and explain human culture while Twilight comments on the differences or similarities to Equestria. After a couple more hours, I notice the clock on the wall and how the time is approaching 10:30.

"Twilight, thanks so much for your time, but I think I should get going. I'm scheduled to meet Applebloom and Applejack for lunch in a while, and I've still got to find my way back to the restaurant."

"Oh don't mention it, Leon. It was great getting to know you better and learn about your world. Anytime you want to talk about anything, just stop on by." She says that last with a hopeful smile on her face.

I nod as I stand up. "Thanks, Twilight. It was good getting to know you too. I guess I'll see you around." I head toward the exit, and I hear her reply with a goodbye.

Once outside, I look around, trying to get my bearings. I've only been to this restaurant once, but the town's not all that large, really. I think I have a good idea of the direction, if not the exact location, so I start walking. I'm trying to ignore the staring, which is why I'm watching the sky and can notice a small rainbow streaking through the clouds. I'm wondering whether that could be Rainbow Dash when it suddenly turns and starts zooming right at me. As the rainbow gets closer, I can see that it's actually _the_ Rainbow. However, she seems to be getting very close and not slowing at all.

Just as I'm about to duck, she cuts her speed at an impossible looking rate and lands right in front of me, reared up on her hind legs and wearing a cocky grin. "How's it hanging, Leon?"

"Dang, Rainbow, that was some amazing control there." I can't even remember to return her greeting.

She drops to all fours and laughs a bit. "Ah, that's nothing. You should see me when I'm really trying. So where are you heading?" She asks this while falling in step beside me, as I've resumed walking slowly.

"Lunch actually. I'm looking for a certain restaurant, but I didn't catch the name the last time I was there."

"Well, what's the place like? I know this town like the back of my hoof, so I'm sure I can help you." I try to describe what I can remember from the place, and after a second of thinking, she answers. "Sounds like The Flower Garden to me. That's just a couple blocks over that way." She points one hoof in a direction almost perpendicular to where I'm walking.

"Oh, thanks, Rainbow. It would have taken me a long time without some help." I pause my walking, looking in that direction before facing Rainbow again.

"No problem, Leon. Say, are you eating by yourself?" By this point she is back to hovering in mid-air next to me.

"Nah, I'm meeting with Applejack for lunch. Why, would you like to join us?"

She gains a smirk at my answer. "Hmm. No, I can't. I've got some more weather patrol to do before my lunch break. Besides, I wouldn't want to intrude on your date." Her smirk grows as she says that.

I give her an unamused look. "It's not like that and you know it."

She waves one hoof at me lazily, "Yeah, yeah, sure. Anyway, I should really get going. I'll see you, Leon." She turns and starts to fly off, but as she departs she yells, "Enjoy your date!"

I yell out her name as she soars off, but she does not respond. 'Ugh, she's just trying to rile me up,' I think to myself. For the life of me though, I can't really say why her joke bothered me that much. I resume my walk and the restaurant comes into view soon enough. This time, I notice the small sign over the building's entrance that reads "The Flower Garden." I approach the low lying fence around the dining area, scanning the tables but do not see either of the mares that I'm looking for. Thinking that maybe I'm actually too early, I turn around and spot them walking toward me down the street.

AJ sees me and smiles, while Applebloom hops up a couple times and yells out "Hey, Leon!"

"Hiya, 'Bloom. Applejack." I give them each a big grin.

AJ asks, "Did you find your way around alright?"

"Sort of. Rainbow Dash had to give me some help to find this place though. Shall we grab a table?" They both nod and we head inside the fence, taking seats around an empty table. This time I decide to actually order for myself, so I take up my menu while AJ does the same. Applebloom just sits there looking around, apparently already knowing her order or letting AJ make the decision.

The same waiter from before approaches, and we start off ordering drinks. Once he leaves, Applebloom speaks up. "So Leon, how did your visit with Twilight go?"

"It was great actually," I answer sincerely while still reading over the menu. "We talked about a lot of things, both about my home and here. I learned quite a bit about Twilight too."

AJ looks at me over her menu, "I'm glad to hear you two get along so well without me there. I know Twilight and get a bit…excited when it comes to learning new things."

I chuckle at her understatement. "Yeah, she can, but it's alright with me. I can understand where she's coming from."

The waiter returns with our drinks, and AJ and I each put down our menus, ready to order. She starts off with a marigold salad for herself and some kind of grilled cheese 'foals meal' for Applebloom. I decide to go with the cream of mushroom soup, one of the more human sounding dishes. If I remember correctly, mushrooms are a good source of protein as well.

I look between the two of them and ask, "Did you both get done what you wanted to this morning?"

AJ answers first, "Yep. I brought in three bushels and helped Big Mac with the inventory before he went out to buy supplies." She turns to Applebloom, "And you got your assignments done, right?

"Of course, Sis. It was mostly just reviewing for a quiz tomorrow, anyway. That reminds me…" Applebloom turns to me and puts on the puppy eyes. "Leon, would you like to come to school with me on Tuesday for show and tell?"

I'm a bit surprised at that. "You mean like, showing and telling me?" She nods. "Um, sure, I guess. I can't imagine why they would be interested in me though. Except maybe because I'm so much taller than you ponies."

Applebloom grins and thanks me before AJ interjects. "You shouldn't put yourself down like that, Leon. You're plenty interesting and a good friend. Plus, you're so good with foals. Why, I'm sure the human mares are all over you back where you're from."

I rub my neck upon hearing that, blushing a little bit. "Heh, uh, not really. I mean, yeah, I've been on a couple dates, but I've never had a successful relationship."

She just smiles at that. "Well, you've got me beat. No stallion's ever even asked me out. Okay, I guess there was that one writer friend of Rarity's, but I had to turn him down. Most ponies aren't much for the rural, farm life, I think."

"I can't imagine why…" It makes me sort of sad to hear that AJ's had just as bad of luck in relationships as I have. It's at this point that I notice Applebloom wearing a huge grin and that her eyes are darting between the two of us expectantly.

After several seconds of silence, Applebloom opens her moth to say something, but the waiter chooses that moment to return with our meal, leaving her with an exasperated expression. We thank him and start digging in, though I do wonder what she was going to say. Since we're eating, there's minimal conversation, and soon enough we're finished. AJ pulls some bits from under her hat again, but I convince her to at least let me pay for my order with the bits she gave me yesterday, seeing as how I never used them. Leaving a pile of coins on the table, we finally leave and start towards Rarity's house/store.

The walk doesn't seem to take too long as we make random chatter on the way. We're walking up to the front door before I know it, and then I hear the familiar tingling bell sound as we enter. From the back room, I hear, "Just a mo~oment!"

After several seconds, Rarity walks out wearing some bright red glasses and having a loose tape measure draped over her shoulders. It makes her look a bit less elegant than usual, but she still looks great, of course. "Ah, Applejack, Applebloom, and Leon! Welcome. Is it safe to say that you are here for Leon's order?"

"Yep, you got it, Rarity," replies AJ. "If'n your ready that is."

"Oh, but of course. Once I got the first designs completed, making duplicates went by rather quickly. Please, come into the lounge and see for yourself."

We follow her into the back room, and the first thing that I notice is a rolling clothes rack that is filled to the brim with clothing on hangers. I approach it and do a quick scan, noting that it seems to hold everything I requested, plus some extra. Specifically, there are a couple extra pairs of dress slacks and dress shirts. She's even included three human proportioned ties. As I pull a dress shirt from the rack, "Wow, Rarity. These look amazing."

"Oh, thank you Leon. Would you mind trying on a few? I'd like to make sure they are satisfactory, but I'm also excited just to see how you look in them." She gives me an expectant expression with that.

"Sure, Rarity, that's the least I can do after something like this." I take in hand a dress shirt, some slacks, a pair of pajama bottoms and the swim trunks before heading back upstairs to change. I try on the pajama pants first, just checking that they fit. Finding them to be quite comfortable, I then switch to the swim trunks. They're mostly a dark blue with some light blue accents near the bottom. I note that she included the drawstring like I requested, and I find that they fit very well also. Finally, I change fully into the dress shirt and slacks, double checking in the mirror that I have it all tucked in correctly and that the collar is straight. The pants are a dark olive, while this shirt is maroon. Satisfied that I've got it on correctly, I head downstairs to let Rarity inspect her work.

As I walk back into the lounge, I find all three mares on those sofas chatting. Hearing me enter, they drop their conversation. AJ and Rarity both smile while Applebloom runs over to me. "Wow, Leon, you sure look fancy in that get-up!"

"Thanks, 'Bloom." I pick her up in my right arm, still holding the other clothes draped over my left.

By this point, Rarity is again circling me, pulling on her work in several places with her magic, making sure it all fits correctly. While she inspects it, AJ speaks up, still seated on the sofa. "I gotta agree, Sugarcube. You look pretty snazzy there."

I smile at her and blush slightly. "Thank you, Applejack. Of course, with Rarity being the one to making the clothing, I'm sure it would look great on anyone."

Rarity finishes her inspection and looks me in the face over the rim of her glasses. "You flatter me, kind sir. I'm so glad to see that everything has worked out. Now, will you be needing something to carry your ensemble in?"

I had not even considered that. I guess we should have brought the cart or something. "Ah, yes, if that's not too much trouble, Rarity."

"Of course it's not, Darling. I think these will do." She says that as she carries over a couple large cardboard boxes from behind a shelf. She, Applejack and I then start to pack everything up, making sure to fold the clothing neatly.

"Okay, I think that's everything. I guess we'll get going now. Thanks again, Rarity."

We start to head out as Rarity replies, "Think nothing of it, Darling. Have a good day now."

AJ, Applebloom and I start heading back home… I mean back to the farm. Well, okay, I guess while I'm here, I can just refer to the place I am staying at as home. In any case, I'm carrying one box while AJ has the other balanced on her back. Applebloom insisted on helping, so before we left, I draped a couple folded t-shirts over her back. We make the trek back to SAA with AJ telling me a few previous examples of Rarity's generosity. From the sound of things, I'm kind of surprised that she can stay in business.

As we approach the farm entrance, we see Big Mac approaching as well, pulling a cart loaded with various materials. Once within ear shot, AJ greets her brother. "Hey there, Big Mac. Did you get everything alright?"

"Eeyup," comes the answer, not surprisingly. He and AJ discuss his purchases while Applebloom starts telling me about where they swim. Apparently, out on the far edge of their property is a pond where they go to cool off.

Once in front of the house, we all decide on what we'll do next. After a short discussion, AJ summarizes. "Okay, so Mac and I'll go unload the cart real quick. Leon, you take some time to get your clothes put away. And Applebloom, you can go gather up some towels for everypony later on."

We all nod and then split up. I just manage to carry both boxes up to my room and quickly start unloading. I'm grateful that Rarity was able to spare some hangers as well. Once everything is put away, I change into my trunks and throw on a gray t-shirt, at least for the walk over. I think I'll just go over barefoot, too. I head downstairs to the kitchen and find Granny and Applebloom putting together some sandwiches and bottled juice in a large picnic basket. Apparently, 'Bloom already gathered the towels and had the idea that we could just eat out at the pond. I help them put the finishing touches on the sandwiches, and just as we are wrapping up and stowing them, AJ and her brother walk in. I decide to ask if Mac and Granny are going as well.

I hear another, 'Eeyup' from the stallion, but Granny declines, saying that she doesn't have the energy to keep up with her grandchildren like that anymore. With everything ready, Big Mac takes the basket on his back and the four of us head out. I follow them down a path through a side of the orchard I've not seen yet. It's about a fifteen minute walk before the pond finally comes into view.

"Here it is!" I hear from Applebloom, who has been in the lead of our little party. I take a look over the scene as we continue approaching. The pond itself is about two hundred feet across and somewhat ovoid. On the side nearest us, the shoreline is flat and grassy. On the opposite side, the pond seems to cut slightly into a hill, so that the earth towers about ten feet or so over the surface of the water. Once we are up near the edge, I notice that the water is quite clear, allowing me to see that the ground at the bottom of the water slopes down from this edge to a pretty good depth near the hill. Seems like the perfect setup for diving over there.

"What do you think, Leon?" AJ walks up next to me as I'm taking in the view.

Still looking over the pond, I answer, "It's great, Applejack. A nice little place to relax."

She nods and looks like she is about to say something else, but is cut off as Applebloom goes zipping past us. "Well, what are you two waiting for? Let's go!" She runs up to the edge of the water and makes a small jump, landing in the shallower end. Being so short, she still goes under for a second before her head breaks the surface. As she starts to dog paddle around, I realize that this is the first time I've seen her without that huge pink bow in her mane.

"Just a minute, 'Bloom." I turn around and walk toward a nearby tree where Mac is setting down the basket and taking out some towels. Looks like they each have one in their specific colors. I see a red one, as well as an orange and a yellow. I guess I'll be using the white one. As Mac walks off to join Applebloom, I remove my tee and toss it over one of the lower branches on the tree. I turn around to see AJ still standing near the water's edge. She's watching me with a curious expression, but when I face her direction, she turns her gaze back to her sister playing.

I try not to think about that look she was giving me. I've always been a bit self-conscious about my pudginess, although I guess there's really no need for that here. These ponies have never even seen a human before me, so I doubt they're really going to judge my appearance like that.

I walk back over to the water's edge, where I see Applebloom and Big Mac splashing each other, with the little filly laughing it up. Rather than go right in though, I decide to go and check out that hill. I slowly walk around the pond until I'm at its peak. I take one more look down into the water, checking that it's definitely deep enough and that there's not anything jutting from the face of the hill.

Seeing that it looks fine, I take a deep breath before launching myself from the hilltop, bringing my legs up to my chest to perform a cannonball. I hit the water's surface and sink down, finding it to be refreshingly cool. Once I come back up, I hear Applebloom calling out, "Wow, Leon, that was a huge splash!"

I wipe the water out o my eyes. "Uh, thanks, I guess." I swim over toward her and her brother as they resume their splash war. I get close enough to the shore to touch the bottom and stand up. I look over to see to see AJ just sitting on the shore, her front legs crossed as she watches her siblings play. I call out to her, "Applejack, aren't you coming in?"

She looks to me and smiles, "Yeah, yeah, I guess I should. Just give me a minute." As she stands to all four and walks back toward that tree, I turn to Big Mac and Applebloom and join in their fight. I walk quietly up to right behind Applebloom before bringing both arms around to splash her.

She yelps and turns around to face me. "No fair, Leon!" she cries out before starting to splash me back. The three of us continue that for a couple minutes before I notice something that makes me freeze.

Trotting up to the water is Applejack, but she looks different. She has removed her Stetson, leaving it over near the towels and basket. However, what really catches my attention is that she has removed the ribbons from both her mane and her tail, letting her hair flow freely. She looks like a different pony entirely, especially with her mane hanging over both shoulders.

I don't notice how the splashing sounds behind me stop, as I'm just dumbfounded by the sight before me. Just as she is about to step into the water, she pauses, apparently noticing me staring. "Something wrong there, Sugarcube?"

"Umm… Ugh, I uh… you…" I'm completely tongue-tied and I'm sure that I'm blushing like mad.

From behind me, I hear, "He thinks you look pretty with your hair down!"

I turn and give Applebloom an evil glare over my shoulder. She's standing on her brothers back wearing a huge grin. Big Mac seems to be trying (and failing) to suppress a smile.

As AJ speaks, I turn back to face her. "Is that why you were staring, Leon?"

I consider my answer before speaking. I decide that it's probably best to just be honest with her. "Um, well… you do look… nice."

She blushes just slightly while stepping into the water. "Aww, well thank you. A compliment every once in a while is appreciated."

I'm trying to figure out what to say next when I'm suddenly tackled from behind. I hear giggling just before I go face first beneath the water. I turn over and sit up, with the water being that shallow here. I see Applebloom treading water just in front of me, laughing it up. "Oh, you should see how red your face is!"

I stand up and give her a smirk, "You think you're just hilarious don't you?"

She continues laughing up until I pick her up, but then resumes when I start tickling her. "No! Ha, please, hehehe, stop, hahaha…."

I let her go once she's completely out of breath. With the tension broken from before, we resume goofing around, with AJ taking part as well. Applebloom shows me a game that's basically the same as Marco Polo, but instead of the usual, the blind pony yells out 'Wonder' while the others reply 'Bolt.' We play that for a while, then some water tag, before we finally just take turns jumping from the hill.

After about an hour and a half altogether, we finally start to just unwind. Big Mac is floating on his back in the middle of the pond; AJ seems to just be swimming some slow laps, while Applebloom and I are laying out on my towel. I'm stretched out full length with my hands behind my head, and she's curled up at my side, looking wholly asleep. I close my eyes and just listen to the wind and feel the sunshine slowly drying me out.

I'm just about asleep myself when I hear hoofsteps coming near. I open one eye to spot AJ walking over, carrying her rolled up towel in her mouth. She unfurls it and spreads it out right next to mine before laying down on her belly, stretching her front legs forward and her hind ones backward. "Did you have fun, Leon?"

I look to her for a second more before answering. "Um, yeah… this was great. We'll need to do it again." I'm still sort of awestruck by how beautiful she looks with her hair down, especially now that it's all wet. However, I also feel confused, wondering how on earth I can ever call a pony 'beautiful.' I mean, yeah, she's really nice and sweet and pretty, but is it right for me to think of her like that?

After a moments silence, she turns her head toward me with a look of concern. "I'm sorry for Applebloom embarrassing you earlier. I'll have a talk with her later about that."

Well, I was embarrassed, but I don't want Applebloom getting scolded over something like that. "No, don't worry about it. It really was funny, and besides, she wasn't wrong." Dang, why did I add that last part?

She notices it as well. "So… you really do think I'm pretty?"

Aw man, this is awkward. "Well, yeah. I mean, you always look very… pretty, but having your hair down does look especially good on you."

She gains a content smile before turning her face away. "Thanks, Leon. You're not exactly hard on the eyes yourself, you know."

I don't say anything in response and opt to just turn my gaze back toward the sky overhead. Of course, I think I'm probably smiling like an idiot at her compliment. We spend a few moments in comfortable silence before Big Mac climbs out of the water and starts approaching. Once he gets closer, I see that he's wearing a weird grin, one that makes me think he knows something that I don't.

"Yall want to eat before we head back?" He asks, looking between AJ and myself. We both nod, and AJ gets up to go grab the picnic basket. I start to slowly rub Applebloom's back, trying to wake her in a kind manner.

"Hey, 'Bloom. You've gotta wake up. You'll be up all night if you keep sleeping now."

She starts to mumble before eventually sitting up on her haunches, yawning and rubbing her eyes. "Wuz goin' on?" she asks, still looking bleary eyed.

I just chuckle while her brother answers. "We're gonna have a snack before heading on back soon. It's starting to get a little late."

She nods and yawns again as AJ returns, carrying the basket in her mouth. She sets it down and takes a seat next to me on her towel again. While Big Mac also takes a seat nearby, I open the basket and start passing out sandwiches and drinks. While we eat, we all talk about how much fun we've had this evening, though Applebloom still seems very tired and does not say too much.

Once finished, we start packing up everything and begin the walk back to the house. I pick up Applebloom and carry her over my shoulder. The sun is beginning to set as we approach the house. AJ comments that 'Bloom probably needs to shower and go straight to bed. Noting how's she's practically asleep again on my shoulder, I agree with AJ.

"Here," AJ says, "I'll take her and makes sure she gets cleaned up." With that, I carefully drape the little filly over her sister's back, who then carries her upstairs to the restroom. I decide to help Mac unload the picnic basket. He removes the trash while I take all the used towels and carry them to the laundry room. Since I've moved in here, I've learned that they do in fact have both a clothes washer and dryer, though they are of course smaller than I'm used to.

Heading back to the kitchen, I grab a glass and fill it from the tap. There's no sign of Granny Smith, and I think Big Mac went outside to check something. I take a seat in the dining room and just slowly sip my drink while relaxing. I'm feeling a little burned from all the sunlight I soaked up, and I'm probably going to be a bit sore in the morning as well from being so out of shape.

As I'm about to go get a refill, AJ comes back down the stairs. She walks up next to me, and I see that her hair is done up in a towel. "Okay, Leon, the shower's all yours. I've already put Applebloom to bed."

I thank her before taking my glass back to the kitchen and then heading upstairs. I stop in my room to grab some clean clothes and then enter the restroom. I quickly shower, get dressed, then brush my teeth and all that. Now that I finally have some extra clothes, I'm actually dressed as I prefer for bed, wearing a white tee and some loose, flannel pajama pants. Finishing my hygiene routine, I drop my trunks in a hamper in the restroom and walk back to my room.

By this time, it's gotten very dark outside, and I feel like I should probably be getting to sleep. I'm tempted to continue reading that history book again, but the tiredness wins out. I cut the light and crawl under the covers, feeling very relaxed. After a few minutes, just as I am starting to drift off, there's a knock at the door.

I rouse myself back to full consciousness, and call out, "Yes? Who's there?"

The door opens and I hear the reply from a certain little yellow filly. "It's me, Leon"

I sit up, looking at her standing in the doorway. "What's up, 'Bloom? Something wrong?"

She looks away and lazily kicks at the floor with one hoof. "Umm, no, I was… just wondering if I could sleep with you tonight."

That takes me by surprise. I'm certainly growing fond of her, but that seems too affectionate, even for her. "Why do you want to do that?"

She looks a bit disappointed. "Well, I couldn't get back to sleep, and I just like being around you. But I don't want to bother you, nevermind."

I feel my heart wrench, realizing that I sounded like I was turning her down. "Applebloom, you could never bother me. I was just surprised is all. You're free to spend as much time with me as you want." With that, I pat the mattress beside me.

Her face lights up as she trots over, and then she hops onto the bed beside me. We take a minute to find a comfortable position, and she ends up lying in the crook of my right arm, with her head resting on my shoulder.

I start to relax, but am still kept from sleep when I hear Applebloom speak again. "Thanks for letting me join you."

I roll my head around to face her. Even in the darkness, I can make out her large eyes staring at me. I tighten my arm around her for a quick hug and answer, "Don't mention it, 'Bloom. You should know I can't turn down a request from a filly as cute as you."

She lets out a short giggle and then is silent for a moment before speaking again. "Hey, Leon?" her voice is very quiet and sounds almost uncertain.

I really want to get to sleep, but of course I can't ignore her. My eyes are closed by this point, but I still reply, "Yeah, Applebloom?"

What she says next causes me to wake up fully. "Could you and my Sis please get married?"

My eyes snap back open, and I look at her. She's wearing an expression that seems to show nervousness, but at the same time is filled with hope. I adjust my position a bit so I can face her more comfortably, and also to give me a few seconds to think. However, all I can come up with is, "Where is this coming from, Applebloom?"

Her eyes dart back and forth a couple times before focusing on me again. "It's just… If you two got married, then you'd really be my brother and we could be friends forever. I've seen the way you act around each other. I think you'd be really happy, and I'd be happy to have you in the family."

Oh man, can she get any sweeter? I think for a moment, trying to decide on how best to answer. I don't want to hurt her feelings, but there's no way I can encourage an idea like that.

Eventually, I start my answer. "Applebloom… I'm really touched that you feel that way. You know that I adore you, and I do really like your sister, but it's not like that. I'm sorry."

She starts to look heartbroken upon hearing that, taking her eyes away from mine, but I continue, "However, you should really know that two… ponies don't have to be family to stay friends. You mean way too much to me, and I can promise you that we will always be friends."

She looks a slightly more pleased with that and looks back to me with those big, hazel eyes. "You really promise we'll always be friends?"

"I certainly do." I wrap both arms around her and pull her into another hug, during which she nuzzles her cheek against mine. Dang it, I can't believe how sappy this girl makes me, but I guess it's really not that bad. I mean, I can't even describe how happy it makes me to know that she thinks so highly of me.

We get adjusted again, with her curled up at my side, and me lying on my back. She's finally relaxed and going to sleep. As her breathing starts to slow, I find my thoughts drifting o Applejack. I still pretty confused by all this. She's a really good friend, but still… she's a pony.

I lie there trying to figure out how I feel, and eventually I come to the resolution that I need to speak to Twilight about this. She's so knowledgeable, and she did offer to help me if I wanted to talk about anything. Having made at least some kind of decision, I'm able to finally set aside my thoughts and slowly drift off to sleep, still holding the adorable filly beside me.


	5. Chapter 5

Author note: Not too much to say this time. I think the intro arc will end with chapter 8, and I'm currently having a lot of fun writing chapter 7. Thanks for your all's encouragement. I need to give a shout out to the artist who made the cover art. His wallpaper that I used is at art/Applejack-CM-Wallpaper-358037866.

To Prophet 21 and Brony 2.0: thanks for the compliments, guys. I do so love the scenes with Applebloom, though they will probably be less frequent from here on out.

Chapter 5:

I wake up to the sunlight streaming in my window. As I'm regaining consciousness, I feel a strange pressure on my chest. I manage to crack an eye open, and feel a grin come over me at the sight right in front my face.

It seems that at some point during the night, Applebloom had shifted to lying right on top of my chest. Her legs are splayed out in every direction, and her head, which is facing toward me, is slightly tilted to one side. There's a small drool spot on my shirt just under her mouth.

Ah boy, she is just too much for me. I lay there for a minute watching her sleeping face with that messed up hair. I can't bring myself to wake her, so I just bring one hand to rest on her back. Her expression changes to a small smile, and I close my eyes again, choosing to simply rest a while longer.

It feels like only a few minutes before I hear the door slowly creak open. I then hear somepony whispering, "See, I told you."

"Aww, ain't that just the sweetest thing you ever saw," somepony else comments.

"Eeyup."

My eyes snap open to see all three adult members of the Apple family standing just outside the doorway. They're all looking at me while wearing smiles and snickering. I slap my free hand over my eyes in embarrassment.

I hear them all chuckle before there are some hoofsteps heading down the hall and some others entering the room. I peek between my fingers to see just Applejack is still there, and that she has walked up beside my bed.

She raises one eyebrow and gives me a knowing expression before whispering, "Looks like you two slept pretty well."

I lower my hand from my face and sigh. "I guess so. I'm sorry, she came in late last night and asked to sleep in my bed. I hope that's alright with you?" I know some parents can be strict about discouraging that sort of behavior. Well, she's not Appleblooms parent, but still.

"Alright? Why, I think it's just adorable how she has you wrapped around her little hoof." She laughs quietly at that before continuing. "I've told you before, I love seeing how you two get along. It really warms my heart."

"You know, last night, before she fell asleep she asked me to… well… she said she wanted me to be her brother." I'm leaving out her exact plan for making that happen for obvious reasons. "I have to admit, I've started thinking of her as the little sister that I never had." Man, here I am getting all sappy again. What are these ponies doing to me?

"That sort of makes sense. You know, Big Mac and I love her to pieces, but we can't raise her without becoming more like her parents and less like her siblings."

That comment makes me realize that I've yet to consider about their parents. What happened to them? Why are Granny Smith and her three grandchildren living alone? I'm pondering whether it would be wise to ask about this when the ball of red and yellow fur on my chest starts to stir.

She yawns before slowly opening her eyes. She looks between AJ and myself before smiling and greeting us. "Good morning, Sis. Good morning, Leon. What are you two doing?"

AJ answers her. "Oh, we were just talking about a certain lazy filly using somepony else for a pillow."

Applebloom does not seem at all affected by her sisters comment. She stands up on my chest and starts to stretch, looking very cat like. "Say what you want, Sis, but he actually makes a great pillow."

I poke her in the belly for that. "Oh really? Maybe you two could step out and give this pillow time to get dressed, hmm?"

Applebloom giggles before hopping down from the bed. "Sure, Leon."

As the both turn to walk out, AJ says, "Don't go falling asleep again, Leon. Breakfast'll be ready soon."

They close the door as they leave. I finally sit up and stretch out. That done, I clamber out of bed and start getting dressed. I throw on a dark red polo and some jeans, along with my usual tennis shoes. Boy, I love having clean clothes again.

Anyway, I head downstairs and join the family for breakfast. Applebloom seems to have already fixed her mane and applied another pink bow. Big Mac and AJ are both well into their meal, and Granny Smith seems to be serving a plate for me as I walk in. I thank her before I quickly dig in.

Once we are all nearly finished, I ask AJ what the plan is for today.

"Oh, just the usual, I guess. Chores and business, you know. Was there anything that you were wanting to do today, Leon?"

"Hmm. Well, I want to look into getting a job, at least a part-time one. I'd also like to go and speak to Twilight again. She was very informative yesterday, and I've come up with some more questions since then. Of course, that's only after I help out here." I refill my drink as I tell her this.

She almost looks disappointed at my mention of a job. "Now, you know we'd be willing to just hire you here, right?" Big Mac gives a nod while wearing a serious expression.

I nod as well, still chewing some food. After swallowing, I answer, "Yeah, I know, but you all are already doing so much for me. I could never accept wages in addition to room and board for how little I'm helping. It just wouldn't feel right."

She gains a resigned look. "Aww, you're helping plenty, Leon. We can save a good bit of time with your help on the buckin'."

"Thanks, Applejack." Finally finished with my meal, I push the plate away slightly. "Speaking of which, I'm ready to get started if you are."

She smiles and adjusts her hat. "Yep, lets get going."

After dropping off our dishes in the kitchen, AJ and I head out and into the barn. Walking up to the cart, I start loading up the baskets while AJ gets hooked up. Once loaded, I open the door wide so she can pull out. We head off into the orchard with me again just following AJ. I'm already feeling my soreness from yesterday.

We go through the same process as before, with AJ dropping the apples and me loading and unloading. While we work, she tells me about how she's looking forward to cider season, which is coming up in a few weeks. Apparently, the SAA cider is somewhat famous across Equestria, and pretty much all the ponies of Ponyville take part.

Hearing about the aging process that they use for their cider, I have to ask something. "Applejack, are you saying this drink is alcoholic?"

At this point, we are making our third trip out into the orchard. While we walk, she looks at me rather confused. "What do you mean by alcoholic?"

"You know, fermented drinks that affect your judgment and memory? You said that you age the cider, right?"

She now looks somewhat incredulous. "Well, yeah, we age a few barrels to bring out a stronger flavor, but I've never heard of a drink like what you're describing. Why would anypony drink something like that?"

I smile inwardly at hearing that alcohol is a foreign concept here. "To tell you the truth, I'm not certain. From what I understand, some humans drink it to forget their problems, but it typically just causes more trouble from what I've seen."

The conversation moves on from there as we continue working. It's again about two hours in total before we are finished. As we are heading back to the barn with the final load, Big Mac walks out to meet us.

AJ is the first to speak. "Hey there, Big Mac. You gonna take the market load in and work the stall?"

"Eeyup," comes the answer.

"Okay, let's go ahead and switch this off then."

As they trade off the cart, I just stand nearby and catch my breath. After they are done, Mac starts ambling down the drive toward the exit, after some quick farewells.

Once it's just AJ and myself, I turn to her and ask, "So if your brother is working the stall today, would you like to go to town with me?"

She wears a slightly sad smile as she answers, "I'd love to, Sugarcube, but I've got some things I need to check on around here today. I need to check out a few of the farther portions of the property, as well as make sure that the fruit bat orchard is looking alright."

I'm a bit disappointed to hear that. Of course, now that I think about it, it's probably a good thing that I'll be on my own, considering the conversation that I'm hoping to have with Twilight. "Alright then, maybe next time."

She comes up with a suggestion, though. "Why don't you ask Applebloom if you can walk her to school ? I don't mind her making the trip on her own, but I know she'd probably like your company."

I nod while responding, "Good idea. I think I'll go find her now."

So I turn and head toward the house while AJ walks off back into the orchard. Once inside, I head upstairs to 'Blooms room. Just as I reach up to knock, the door swings open, revealing the filly in question wearing her saddle bag.

She looks surprised for a second, then regains her usual cheery expression. "Hi, Leon. What's up?"

I kneel down to address her. "Nothing much. I was just wondering if I could walk with you into town again."

Her answer is not too surprising. "Why, of course you can! I'm just about to leave. Are you ready now?"

I check to make sure that I still have the few bits that AJ gave me in my pocket before nodding to her. We head outside and start the walk into Ponyville. Along the way, I ask her about her CMC meetings, and when they are planning to get together again.

"Well, we get together several times a week to play, but I don't think we'll be having an official meeting till later in the week.. Of course, what with you being a grown-up and all, it's alright if you can't make every meeting."

I assure her that I'll make it if I can, and we continue talking about random things as we finish our walk. This time, I walk her all the way up to the fence surrounding the small school.

I kneel down to give her a goodbye hug, during which she asks, "Are you going to meet me here after school?"

I think on that, trying to remember what time she got out on Friday. "Well, what time do your classes usually end?" She tells me that it's typically about 3:00 PM, and I continue. "Probably not, then. I don't think I'll need to be in town that late. I'll just meet you back at the farm, okay?

She agrees without any fuss, and we go our separate ways. I wonder for a moment whether I should look into work listing first or go visit Twilight. Thinking over the layout of Ponyville, or at least the little bit that I know so far, I remember that the town hall is on the way to the library from here. That in mind, I decide to head there first.

I start my trek through town, doing m best not to get lost. As I walk, I notice that the reactions from the town ponies are a bit better today. There are still some that stare as I walk past, but I don't see any looking anxious or fearful. Several actually give me a small greeting or a wave as I walk past. I guess they are starting to get used to my presence.

I manage to find my way to town hall without much incident, noting again how much larger the building is compared to those around it. I'm about to head inside and ask for help when I notice a large board off to the right side of the entrance. I approach it and am pleased to find that this seems to be the job posting wall that Twilight mentioned.

Like most things here, it's a bit shorter than I'd prefer, so I have to kneel down to read it. I start to look through the listings, not really having any idea what sort of work I'm looking for. Seems there are quite a few options though. I see postings for many types of work, including construction, dentist assistant, weather patrol, and even blacksmith. Granted, many of these I cannot do either from lacking wings and magic or from not having the skills.

Continuing to read through the many listings, I go ahead and shift to sitting cross-legged before the board and rest my head in one hand. I'm reading for a minute or two before my vision suddenly is obscured by a wall of pink, and I feel two hooves wrapped around my head, covering my eyes.

"Guess who, Leon!" a particularly excited pony calls out.

From the voice and the color of the hooves, I already know, but I decide to mess with her a bit. "Um, Rainbow dash?"

"Nope, guess again."

"How about… Fluttershy?

"Not even close!"

I put a finger to my chin, pretending to think. "Hmm, lets see. Pink fur, rather loud, and smells like sugar. Well, it's certainly not Pinkie Pie."

"Of course it's me, silly billy!" With that, she removes her hooves from my face and steps around to in front of me, wearing her usual big silly grin.

"Ah, well hi there, Pin—" I stop when I see something odd. It seems that Pinkie has some kind of small, green lizard attached to her tail. Pointing to it, I say, "Uh, Pinkie, do you know that you have something on your tail?"

She glances back at the critter before answering. "Oh, that's just Gummy, my pet alligator."

"Doesn't… that hurt, having him bite your tail like that?" Although honestly, I guess I don't really know where a ponies tail actually ends underneath all that fur.

"Nope! I call him Gummy 'cuz he doesn't have any teeth. I can barely feel it. Here, let me introduce you two." With that she turns around and leans her tail over near me. "Say hello, Gummy."

The alligator just continues staring off into the distance, slowly blinking his eyes individually. I wait a couple seconds before I realize that Pinkie is looking at me expectantly. Realizing that I need to say hello, I reach one hand forward tentatively to pet him. "Um, hi there, Gummy."

As I'm about to touch his head, he suddenly opens his mouth and bites onto my hand with a loud chomp. I yelp and shake my hand a few times before I realize that it really does not hurt.

Pinkie lets out a giggle and says, "Aww, I think he likes you, Leon!"

I bring my hand and said alligator up near my face. He still has the same vacant look in his eyes. I grab onto his tail and give it yank, but he does not budge. I'm kind of surprised that he has such a strong grip on me without inflicting any pain. All I feel is the warm sliminess of his mouth.

"I'll take your word for it." Moving on, I drop my hand back to my lap, with Gummy still attached.

"So anyway, what are you up to, Leon?" Pinkie has taken a seat on her haunches next to me.

"I'm actually looking for work. I've been wanting to pick up a part time job, and Twilight suggested starting here." I point toward the board with my alligator-less hand.

Pinkie jumps back to her hooves and starts to hop in place slightly. "Ooh, ooh, you should talk to Mr. and Mrs. Cake! They told me they're considering hiring on some extra help. You could work at Sugar Cube Corner and help me with making tasty treats and it'll just be so much fun!"

I think about that for a minute. I've got some experience working at the college cafeteria. I didn't enjoy it at all, but I kind of doubt that it compares to working at a bakery. Especially one run by ponies. "Hmm. That… could work, I guess."

Pinkie lets out an incredibly loud "Whoo-hoo!" and launches about twenty feet straight up. She somehow daintily lands back next to me and looks up at my dumbfounded expression. "Something wrong?"

"How did you… you just… ah, never mind." I decide that I don't really want to know how she did that.

"Okii-dokey. So, I'm actually heading back to work now. You want to join me?"

"Um, I think I want to consider it before I speak to the Cakes. I'll probably come by tomorrow, though."

"Okay, that's fine. I'll let the Cakes know to keep an eye out for you. Well, I guess I should get going. Let's go, Gummy!" She lowers her head down near my hand, and the alligator somehow again switches targets, now clamping onto her mane. As she starts to canter away, she calls back, "See you later, Leon!"

"Yeah, bye, Pinkie." I give her a wave before I realize that my hand is covered in alligator slobber. Wiping it off on my pants, I stand up and think to myself about what it might be like to work with somepony so random.

Having found job options to consider, I decide it's time to continue on to Twilight's place. It doesn't take very long, and I spend the few minutes wondering why someone would want an alligator for a pet.

I reach the library and knock on the front door. This time however, I don't hear any answer. I try knocking again, but still hear nothing. 'Well' I think to myself, 'It is supposed to be a public library.' I try the door handle and find it unlocked. I open it and step inside, looking around.

"Anypony home?" I call out. I shut the door behind me and take a few steps inside. "Hello? Twilight? Spike?"

After a couple seconds, I'm scared out of my wits by a huge flash of purple light in the middle of the room. When my sight clears, I see Twilight standing there smiling. "Leon, I wasn't expecting another visit so soon!"

I hold up a hand, "Just a minute. What on ear…in Equestria did you just do?"

She raises an eyebrow and tilts her head. "What do you mean?"

"I mean… the big flash of light and then suddenly here you are."

She smiles and starts walking to one of the sofas. "Oh, I just teleported. I heard you from upstairs and decided to take the fast route."

Teleportation? Oh, right I guess she had mentioned that the other day. I hadn't realized that she could do it, though. "So wait, are all unicorns able to do that?"

She's now somewhat hunkered down on the sofa, with her front hooves crossed. "Well, technically. Most unicorns have the capability to learn it, but it's a rather high tier spell, so very few bother trying."

"I don' see why. Seems to me like that would be crazy useful."

She giggles slightly. "Yes, well, there are limits to it you know. So Leon, what brings you by? And would you like some lemonade?"

I nod while taking a seat on the other sofa. "Lemonade sounds good. As for why I'm here, this is pretty much it. I was just hoping to talk to you again."

She smiles in response. "That's good to hear. Just a moment, please." She half closes her eyes in a look of focus, and her horn starts to glow. After a few seconds, the door to her kitchen opens and in comes floating two tall glasses and a large, clear pitcher of lemonade.

After serving each of us, she continues. "So, what did you want to talk about?"

I take a sip from my drink while I think over how start. I suppose I should ask the obvious first. "I don't suppose you've had any progress on finding a way to send me back, have you?"

She gains a small frown. "I'm sorry, Leon. I haven't found anything. I was thinking of sending Princess Celestia a letter tonight asking for help. I've gone through every text I could find, but I've turned up nothing on travel between worlds."

I don't say anything immediately. It's a bit sad to hear, but I wasn't really expecting her to… Wait, did she say Celestia? "Twilight, is this princess named after the one that defeated this discord guy 1200 years ago?"

"Um, no, she's the same pony."

What!? Their leader is over a thousand years old? I have to ask, "Is that normal? I mean, how old do ponies typically live? How old are you, for that matter? Well, if you don't mind me asking." Even in a different world, it's probably not polite to ask a woman's age.

She shakes her head slightly. "No, it's not the norm. Pegasi and earth ponies typically live to be about 100 years, while unicorns average maybe 110 to 115. The princesses live so long because they're alicorns. As for me personally, I'm eighteen years old."

Hmm, if I remember correctly, that means she's been out on her own for about three years. "Okay, so what is an alicorn? I thought there were only three pony races?"

She puts a hoof to her chin, most likely considering how to explain this. "Well, technically, yes there are only three variations. An alicorn, though, has the properties of all of those three. They have strength, wings, and horns. They also have nearly infinite magical reserves, greatly extending their lifespans. Right now, there are only three known alicorns in existence."

Wow, that sounds pretty OP to me. "So… do you think she'll be able to help?"

"I don't know, Leon. I do know, however, that if anypony can, it'll be her."

I'm not sure how to feel about that. The idea of going home at this point makes me sort of uneasy. I really do like it here, but I don't know if I could just give up on my life on earth.

Twilight interrupts my thoughts at this point. "Like I said, though, I'll send her a letter tonight. We should have an answer by tomorrow. Was there anything else you wanted to talk about, Leon?"

I shift uncomfortably, because I know what other question is I wanted to ask, but it's going to be embarrassing. "Um, yeah, there is. I guess I was wondering about relationships here."

"Oh? You had more questions on the marriages here?"

I scratch the back of my neck. "Not exactly. I was wondering more about… what is the consensus on ponies having relationships with…nonponies?"

She averts her gaze and starts to blush a bit. "Why do you ask, Leon? Do you, um, have your eye on somepony already?"

Ah, man. Might as well get this over with. "Sort of… maybe… I don't know. I'm just looking to talk to somepony about it."

"I see. Well, as for everypony here, you'll find that such relationships, while not exactly the norm, are quite accepted. It wouldn't be right to judge ponies for falling in love just because they look different. I for one know a mare from high school who just married a minotaur a few months ago."

Hmm, that does sound weird. Twilight continues speaking, however. "I think that the better question would be, how do you feel about dating somepony outside your species?"

Well now, that is the question here, isn't it? "I'm not sure. Where I'm from, bestiality is horribly taboo. I'm kind of conflicted here, because you ponies look like animals back where I'm from."

Her gaze drops to floor. "Leon, do you consider us as animals?"

I think for a few seconds before answering. "…No. No, I can't. You do look different, but you all have minds just like me."

"Well, then tell me this. Is there a lot of diversity in human appearances?" I nod in answer and she continues. "And do humans only date those that look strictly like themselves?"

I'm a little bit ashamed to answer this one. "They used to. In some places, it's still considered horrible to date or marry anyone of a different skin color. The culture from my country has mostly gotten over that though."

She ponders over that new bit of information for a moment. "Well, then, if you say we are essentially the same in mind and only different in body, how would that make you different from those humans?"

My god, she's right. I've essentially been struggling with racism here. I mean, racism is a bit of an oxymoron when applied to humans, since we're all the same race anyway. I guess the idea would actually apply to these ponies though. I'm ashamed to realize that I've been judging them for how they look instead of who they are.

"You're right, Twilight. You're absolutely right. I'm so sorry." I drop my head forward and hold my face in both hands.

She shifts over to the seat beside me and places a hoof to my shoulder. "There's nothing to apologize for, Leon. You were just confused. It's understandable after being tossed into a brand new world. You've got it figured out now, though, right?"

After a sigh, I look up, turning to face her. "Yeah. Yeah, I think I have." At least, I know now that I'd be alright with asking a pony out. Actually being able to do that, however, is another story entirely. "Thanks, Twilight. You're a good friend for helping me figure this out."

She gives me a quick hug before withdrawing. "Don't mention it. That's what friends are for, right?"

I smile at that thought. Less than a week here, and I already have more friends than I ever did back home. "Yeah, I guess so."

She decides to change the topic at this point. "Hey, Leon, would you like some lunch?"

I give her a smile. "Sure, that sounds great, as long as I can help you out."

"Okay, then, follow me." She hops down from her seat and starts walking over to the kitchen. I stand up and do the same.

Upon entering the kitchen, I see that it's a very similar setup to the Apple kitchen, though somewhat smaller. There's the usual appliances, such as a stove, refrigerator, toaster, plus a large sink. The cabinets are wooden with white stone counter tops.

Twilight heads right to the fridge and starts rooting around inside. "I don't exactly do a lot of cooking, so we can't make anything too fancy. Spike does most of the cooking for me. How do sandwiches sound?"

I walk over and look past her shoulder into the fridge. "That's fine by me. Speaking of Spike, where is he? Is he making more deliveries?"

She begins passing me ingredients, which mostly consist of veggies, of course. "No actually, I gave him the day off. Who knows what he's up to."

Mentioning Spike makes me remember something else I had been wondering about. "Hey Twilight, how did you and Spike meet? And how did he end up working as your assistant?"

Having pulled out all the foods she'll need, she next starts pulling out a cutting board and a knife. It's a little weird how she can look right at me while using her magic in the background to do stuff. "Well, he doesn't exactly work for me so much as with me. I actually hatched him from an egg when I was little, and I've just taken care of him ever since."

"So you're essentially his mother?" This just gets more and more confusing.

"No, I'd say we're more like siblings, and I've just helped him out through most of his life."

I can understand that. My brother and I were pretty much the same way. "I'm glad to hear it. So what are we doing here?"

She turns back to the counter. "Well, how about I cut the vegetables and you put it all together? The bread is in that lower cabinet there."

I pull out the loaf of bread and we get to work. It only takes a couple minutes before we've got a couple sizable sandwiches made. Opting to minimize the dirty dishes, we just eat them standing there in the kitchen. Twilight pours some refills for our drinks as we start.

While I'm eating, I'm also watching Twilight levitate her sandwich and wondering what it would be like to have magic. A question occurs to me which I have to ask. "Hey, Twilight. Can you levitate yourself in order to fly?"

She swallows her mouthful before smiling and answering. "Actually, no. The simple telekinesis spell that most unicorns first learn is all about moving things in relation to yourself. So while I could lift other ponies, I cannot lift myself."

"Oh, that's too bad."

"Of course that's not to say that flight is impossible," She really seems to be enjoying this line of conversation. "I once used a spell to give Rarity some wings and let her fly. It worked perfectly, but it's a really exhausting spell. I haven't tried it since then."

Now I'm really interested. "Do you think something like that would work on me? Most humans have always dreamed of being able to fly through the skies."

She half closes her eyes and turns her head a bit, obviously thinking. "I'm not sure. What with you being the first human here and most spells being designed to use on ponies, it'd be hard to tell what would happen. Maybe we can do some tests sometime?" She looks to me hopefully with that last part.

"Well, as long you don't think it'd be too dangerous, I don't see why not."

She claps her hooves together, looking rather giddy. "Ooh, this'll be so educational. We'll have to do that next time, if you don't mind."

"Sure, sounds good." I've got to say, I like the idea of being able to fly.

We make more small conversation as we eat, mostly consisting of Twilight telling me about various spells she has learned over the years. I don't know a lot of unicorns, but what she can do really does sound impressive.

Once we finish, I thank her for the meal and help her clean up. After that she turns to me again. "This was a lot of fun, Leon, but sadly I need to get back to studying. Can we get together again soon?"

"Oh yes, definitely. I really enjoyed myself, too. I guess I'll get going, so I'll see you la-"

She cuts me off by hopping to her hind legs and giving me hug. Man, are all these ponies really clingy or is there just something about me that screams 'I need hugs'? I return the affection before we both let go. I start to head to the front door, giving her a quick wave before I finally head outside.

Staring out at the beautiful weather, I consider what to do next. I think the clock in the library said it was about 01:00 PM, so it's too early to go pick up Applebloom. With nothing else to do, I guess I'll just head back to the farm and see what AJ is up to.

I start the walk back to SAA, which is fairly uneventful. I do spot a familiar rainbow blur far off in the distance for a few seconds, but she's too far to see me down on the ground. Aside from that, not much happens on the walk.

I get back to the farm and approach the house. I don't see anyone around, so I head inside to the living room. I find Granny sitting in a rocking chair looking kind of drowsy. She perks up when I walk in though, turning to greet me. "Howdy there, Leon. Wha'chu up to?"

I shrug in response. "Not much actually. I was looking to hang out with Applejack. Do you know where she went?"

Granny gives me a weird smile, similar to that knowing one Mac had yesterday. "I think she said she was going to check around the north grove today. She's probably still out there."

"Thanks, Granny, I'll go take a look." She gives me a nod before I head back out the front door.

Okay, if I remember correctly, the sun rises in the east and sets in the west, so that direction there should be north, I think. Wait a second, this isn't earth. How do I know the direction that the sun rises here is called east? Hmm, well I guess there have been a lot of convenient similarities between here and earth already. I'll just hope this is another one of those.

I start walking off into what I'm guessing is the north orchard, following a barely visible path through the trees. It takes about ten minutes before I see any sign of the mare that I'm looking for. Actually, I hear her before I see her. As I'm walking along listening to the gentle breeze, I start to hear what sounds like someone sleeping.

Off to one side of the path, I walk around a particularly thick tree to find her there, leaned up against it, napping. She's leaned backward with her front hooves behind her head and her hind legs crossed out in front of her. Her hat is pulled down over her face.

"Working hard, I see," I whisper to myself. I've gotta say, the sight of her looking so relaxed does make me feel a little sleepy myself. The bit of sun burn I got yesterday probably does not help either. I decide to take a seat next to her, trying to make as little noise as possible.

I take a similar posture to hers, albeit minus the hat. There's plenty of shade from the branches overhead, and soon enough I start to find myself nodding off as well. After a few minutes, I feel a slightly stronger breeze and hear a small fluttering sound.

I look over to see that AJ's stetson has apparently been blown off her face down to near her hind hooves. With the sudden light on her face, she starts to stir. I expect her to wake up any second, but instead she starts to lie down sideways and ends up resting her head on my lap, muttering something along the lines of "…ten bits per pound… and that's final…"

I'm a bit apprehensive at first with this sudden closeness, but then I remind myself how it seems like all the ponies here are really affectionate. 'Calm down, this doesn't have to mean anything,' I think to myself. As she gets settled into her new position, I try to calm myself and relax.

She starts breathing deeply again, but I don't feel that I can fall asleep now. As I pull my eyes from the pony in front of me upward to watch the clouds slowly drift by, I think back to the issue that Twilight had reminded me of. If I find a way to go home, should I do it?

It almost seems weird to even be considering staying here after only a few days, but this land is essentially a paradise compared to where I'm from. There hasn't been a war here in over a thousand years. I've yet to see any sign of the more common human vices, nor have I seen any evidence of poverty or unrest. The ruler of the country is apparently a nearly immortal, super powerful being that still keeps personal relationships with her subjects.

Then there are also my more personal reasons. I've never had this number of friends before, nor have I ever lived with such a loving family environment. The thought of ever leaving Applebloom makes me feel like a horrible person, and I don't want to even imagine her expression if I had to tell her I was leaving.

Of course, on the other hand is my brother. Could I "leave" him instead? It makes me a little sick to realize that I can already somewhat rationalize doing so. Drew's practically a grown man and is about to be heading to college himself. Plus, what would he say if he knew where I was? I'd like to think he'd want me to stay here and then probably be insanely jealous himself.

I sit there for about forty-five minutes, slowly considering these things and watching the sky. At some point, I must have absentmindedly started stroking AJ's mane, for I find myself hastily pulling my hand away when she finally starts to stir again.

After a few seconds, I hear her mumble something, but all that I can make out is "…was right…"

I whisper to her, "What's that? Are you awake, Applejack?"

Still lying down and facing away from me, she answers, "I said, Applebloom was right. You do make for a good pillow." She now rolls over so that she is gazing up at me, still slightly sleepy looking.

I smile and roll my eyes. "I'm so glad I can help out. Now if I could find work as a pony pillow, I'd be all set."

She chuckles before closing her eyes and nuzzling into my lap again. After letting out a content sigh, she asks, "So how did your job search go?"

I'm a little distracted by how adorable she's looking. "Um, well… I was thinking of working for the Cakes, actually. What do you think?"

She continues talking with her eye closed. "Sounds good, I guess. They run a good business, and Pinkie always has nice things to say about them. I can't say I know them too well, personally. What kind of hours were you thinking of working?"

I go on to explain that I don't really know what they'll be expecting, but that I hope to get maybe 15 hours a week or so. Specifically, just shifts I could do every other day or something like that. Eventually, she asks about my visit with Twilight.

"It was good. She taught me a bit about unicorn magic and made me lunch. She also told me about the princesses and their alicorn status." AJ nods, still smiling. I'm a bit nervous to mention this next part. "She told me… that she would message Celestia about getting me home, too."

She loses her smile and opens her eyes at that. After a few seconds of silence, she sits up, positioning herself next to me, but looking into the distance. "That's… great, Leon. I'm sure the princess'll be able to help you out."

She sounds really down while saying that. I can't say that the topic really cheers me like it should. I want to go home, but I also don't want to leave here. I want to say something to her, but I don't know what.

Instead, she's the one to speak. "You know… I'll be real happy for you if you can get home, but… I'll also be really sad to see you go. We all will." She turns to look me in the face again. I look into those big green eyes, and I can see her sorrow at the thought of me leaving.

"Yeah, me too, but… I'm not too certain that I want to go, you know? I mean, I love it here, but I should probably go back where I belong, right?"

Her expression changes, but it's hard to read. Maybe a little bit of hope? "Well, Leon, how do you know where you belong?"

"Um, I guess… where my family is." I say this slowly, trying to decide if that's really what I believe.

She leans in and hugs me, nuzzling her face into my chest. "Leon, whatever you decide, we all want you to be happy. But I want you to know that you'll always be welcome with our family. Besides, you said Applebloom wanted you to be her brother, didn't she?"

I tentatively place one arm around her to return the embrace. "Yeah, she did. Thanks, Applejack. I'll… I'll have to keep thinking about it." She tightens her hold on me slightly. I have to say…this moment here does feel…right.

After a minute or two, we let go of each other and Applejack settles back in beside me, leaning against me comfortably. While we sit there watching the sun slowly sink toward the horizon, I think again over how lucky I am to have friends like AJ and Twilight. I can't imagine anyone back on earth that I could talk about these kinds of things with, except maybe Drew.

After several minutes of very comfortable silence, I ask her a question. "So Applejack, what were you doing out here before your little break?"

She looks a bit sheepish at the mention of her slacking off. "Well, I was just checking out the orchard, mostly. Gotta make sure critters aren't causing any problems out here, that sort of thing. I was also checking up on the repairs that Mac was making."

I nod at that, not really having anything to add. She turns her head slightly toward me and asks, "So what were you doing out here, Leon?"

"I was actually just looking for you. I had nothing more to do today, so I was hoping to hang out or help with whatever you were doing."

"Aw, that's mighty kind of you. I'm all done out here though. You want to start heading back?"

I really don't actually. The silence out here along with the sights and company are great. But instead, I say, "Yeah, I guess we should get going, huh?"

She nods, and we both start to stand up. I brush myself off while she replaces and adjusts her hat. Both finished, we start back down the path toward the house.

We make small talk on the way, and I notice that she seems to be walking really close to me. I mean, she's like almost leaning against me as we walk. Meh, it's probably just because this path is narrow, and she doesn't want to walk in front of or behind me. Yeah, let's go with that.

As we start to approach the house, I see Big Mac walking up from the property entrance pulling the now empty cart. Upon closer inspection, I also spot Applebloom perched on his back. She waves to us, and AJ and I change course to meet them over near the barn.

As we get nearer, I can see that Applebloom looks as happy as ever. Big Mac is wearing a content expression. When he looks back to us again, however, I see that weird smile again. It's like he has something to say, but enjoys not saying it. I realize now that AJ is still walking very close to my side.

As we all get within speaking distance, AJ is the first to talk. "Hey there, Sis. Hi, Mac. Everything go okay at market today?"

"Eeyup," answers Mac.

I grin at his again very succinct conversational skills. "Big Mac, you don't say much, do you?"

He looks back to me. "Nnope."

That gets a chuckle out of all of us. We stand around while Mac gets unharnessed and Applebloom tells us all about her day. Then, we all head inside where we split up to separate directions. Mac wants to go wash up, AJ's heading to the kitchen to help Granny, and Applebloom is talking me into helping her with her homework again.

Of course, it doesn't exactly take much effort on her part before we are heading up to her room. She spreads her books and papers out over her bed again, and I take a seat next to her. We're working on her Equestrian homework, which is basically just English to me, for a few minutes before she changes the subject (see what I did there?).

"Leon, are you still planning to come to show and tell tomorrow?"

Oh, I'd completely forgotten about that. "Uh, yeah, if you still want me to. What time would that be round about?"

"Miss Cheerilee usually does it before lunch, so probably 11:00."

"Okay, that'll work just fine. I'll probably just head over after the morning chores." I look down to her smiling at me. With that, we return back to her schoolwork. It takes about an hour for her to get through it all with me helping wherever I can.

As she's folding her papers up and stowing them away she says to me, "Thanks again for the help, Leon."

"No problem, 'Bloom. You want to head down and see if dinner is ready?"

She nods and then we both head back downstairs. Dinner's not quite done, but we start setting up the table after Granny asks us to. Big Mac joins us and ends up ferrying Applebloom back and forth on his back while she holds the dishes. It only takes a few minutes before we have everything ready and we take our usual seats.

We wait a short while before Granny and AJ start carrying several dishes in. Once they're done and seated, we all dig in. It's just as delicious as usual, and the conversation is just as warm and friendly as every other day.

I end up not saying much, just reflecting again on how wonderful it would have been to grow up with family like this. It doesn't get me down as much this time, since I try to keep in mind that I'm here now instead of thinking on what I've missed out on.

Dinner seems to end all too quickly, and we each help with the clean up. Once finished, I head upstairs to shower. Afterwards, I'm dressed for bed again and head to my room, not seeing anyone around on the way. It's a little early for bed, so I decide to grab that history book again and get some reading in.

Picking up where I left off last time, I start reading about the diarchal reign of Celestia and Luna. I guess it's safe to assume that Luna is one of the three current princesses that Twilight mentioned. That leaves me wondering for a moment as to who the third could be.

Anyway, continuing on, there are a couple short paragraphs mentioning that 150 years into their reign, something called "The Crystal Empire" just up and disappears. That doesn't really make much sense. How does an entire empire just vanish? Maybe I'll ask Twilight sometime.

That's nowhere near as interesting as the next major event in their history, though. Apparently, Luna eventually started to get jealous of her sister and, according to the book, "was consumed with dark magic, transforming her into the dreaded Nightmare Moon." Celestia and her changed sister had a short battle, which ended with Celestia using the same artifacts from before (they're only referred to as "The Elements" here) to actually banish her sister to the moon. For a thousand years. Yeah, a thousand years.

I'm really left hanging there, as the book does not say what happened next with Luna. I've heard from different ponies that she is reigning again with Celestia, but apparently the book is too old to have recorded how that came about.

Taking a break from reading, I just lay there wondering what it would be like to live in solitude for a thousand years after something like that. It's during this point that there is a knock at my door.

Calling out that it's unlocked, I see the door open to reveal Applebloom again. I give her a smile and ask, "Wanting to sleep in here again, I'm guessing?"

She gives a sheepish grin as she answers. "Yeah, if you don't mind."

"Nah, of course I don't mind. I have to ask, though, is this going to be regular thing?"

She walks over to the bed and hops up. "Maaaybe…."

I just chuckle at her answer and place the book I was still holding under the side of the bed. I then get up and cut the light before returning to the bed. As we both get comfortable, with Applebloom curling up at my side again, I tell her goodnight, which she happily returns.

As we both start to relax and drift off, I'm still thinking about alicorns and how they can handle living for so long. It's really strange to think that this figure from a thousand years ago is the same one that Twilight Sparkle regularly corresponds with. My final thought before I fall asleep is what it might be like to actually meet someone like that.


	6. Chapter 6

UPDATE: This chapter has been updated as of 05/18/2015. If you have not read the version with Diamond Tiara in it, you might want to reread the school house scene. When I originally uploaded, I was a bit disappointed with how that scene turned out, thinking that it was really incomplete and boring. I just chalked it up to my perfectionism and tried to ignore it. However, I quickly got comments from a couple individuals who backed up my initial concerns. So, after some brainstorming, I've edited the scene. I think it's gone from really disappointing to probably my favorite scene so far. (I might be just a TEENSY biased though.)

Auhor's note: Well, here's the next installment. I have to say, there's a chance I might not get a chapter out next Friday. Please don't hate me! My classes are over for the semester, but I've been in the process of switching to night work (midnight to eight AM, ugh), so I have not gotten too much work done on this recently. I'll do my best though to have a chapter posted!

Joeker: Thanks for your encouragement, man. Every review is a big boost to my motivation. I can say with certainty that thou shan't be waiting much longer for what thou mention(est)!

Chapter 6:

Ah, today seems to be another day when I can wake up of my own accord. As I slowly regain consciousness, I feel the warm lump in the bed next to me. Looking over to my right side, I see a somewhat comical sight. Applebloom must really toss and turn in her sleep, because she somehow turned around so that her head and upper torso are under the edge of the covers, while her lower is half is sticking out.

Trying not to wake her, I carefully climb out of bed and get dressed for the day. I decide to throw on a grey short sleeve and another pair of jeans. While putting on my ratty tennis shoes, I note that I might need to speak to Rarity about getting some new shoes at some point.

Once fully dressed, I walk back over to the bed and get down on my knees so that my face is right next to Applebloom's. Pulling the covers off of her face, I gently pet her mane. "Hey, 'Bloom, time to wake up."

She rolls over onto her back and pulls the covers over herself again. "Just a little longer…"

"Hehe, alright then." I stand back up and head downstairs, figuring that she'll be able to wake herself up soon. I walk into the dining room just as Granny and AJ are carrying in breakfast. There's no sign of Mac yet. Greeting the two mares, I head into the kitchen to grab some dishes and help set the table.

As we finish setting everything up, Mac walks in from the back door. He gives me a nod and a smile before greeting his sister and granny. As we all start taking our seats, Granny speaks up, seemingly to no one in particular. "Ain't Applebloom up yet? I haven't seen her this morning."

I shake my head in answer. "Nope, she's asleep. She's probably still up in my room."

"Aw, well I guess she can sleep in a little just this once. By the way, Lenin…" she leans across the table toward me little bit. I opt to not correct her on my name, though AJ rolls her eyes. "… I need to thank ya for being so kind to my little 'Bloom. She's takin' a real shine to ya, from what I've seen."

I smile at her, "Don't mention it. She makes it easy to like her, anyways, with her being so adorable and everything."

She gives me an appreciative nod before turning back to her breakfast. I address AJ next, wondering what we'll be doing. "So Applejack, the usual work this morning?"

She takes a second to swallow a mouthful of eggs before answering. "Yep. I was—"

She's interrupted by Big Mac clearing his throat quietly. When she pauses, he speaks up. "Actually, I was wondering if you'd mind helping me out this morning, Leon. As long as my sister doesn't mind too much."

AJ looks a bit confused, but quickly agrees. "Nah, I don't mind, but what do you need him for? Aren't you still working on the north fence?"

"Eeyup, I am. I'm making fine progress on my own, but a little help would be nice. Plus, I'd like to speak to Leon."

Hmm, that's a little strange. It should be good, though, since I've not had much of an opportunity to get to know Mac yet. AJ glances to me before giving Mac a scrutinizing gaze. "Well, alright then. I'll have Applebloom help out with the buckin' today."

With that settled without any real input from myself, we finish up breakfast. Granny asks me to clear the dirty dishes while she goes upstairs to wake Applebloom. Big Mac and AJ head outside to get ready for work, with the former asking me to meet him near the bar n when I'm ready.

It only takes a few minutes to gather the dishes to the kitchen, and then I am headed out as well. As I approach the barn, I see the two of them standing outside the front entrance talking. When I come within earshot, I just hear the end of their conversation from AJ, "…it easy on him, alright? For me?"

Mac nods to her before looking to me. Following his gaze, AJ turns around to face me too. I see now that she is wearing a sort of saddle contraption with a hook on either side. It's probably the device she described to me the other day. She gives me a smile before turning and heading into the orchard carrying a couple of baskets.

Mac addresses me after we watch her leave. "Well, come on in and let's get the cart loaded." We head inside the bar n and he directs me toward a pile of planks to start loading into another cart. This one seems more simple, with fewer trimmings and more scrapes on it. Mac gathers a few tools and a satchel before helping me with the wood. Once everything he wants is in, we head outside and down that same path that I took yesterday.

We're walking along in silence while I wonder what it was that he wanted to talk to me about. Trying to get the ball rolling, I ask him a question. "So Big Mac, you enjoy apple farming, right?"

"Eeyup." Okay, I guess that was an obvious question.

"Are you planning to take over the farm someday?"

"Nnope." What? He's not going to run the place?

"What do you mean? Do you have other plans?"

He's still looking straight ahead as we walk. "Maybe. Applejack is better suited to take over here someday. As for me, I've been considering eventually heading out west and starting a new farm or maybe my own business. That's a long ways off though, if ever."

"Really…" I have to take a moment to absorb that. It's hard to imagine this place without him. Of course, I'm not sure I would want to live with my siblings forever either. Eventually he's going to need room for his own family.

Speaking of which, "Hey Mac, do you have a girlfriend?"

"A what friend?"

I slap my hand to my face. "Um, I mean a marefriend . It seems like there are a lot more mares than stallions here, so I was wondering if you've found somepony."

He gives me a quick glance, wearing the first real expression since we started walking, before looking forward again. "Well… not exactly. I sort of have my eye on somepony, but… you know how it is."

I guess I do, actually. With how quiet he is, I'm sure it's difficult to speak to mares like that. I'm glad to hear that he is looking though. "Anypony that I know?"

He looks almost embarrassed by this. "Maybe. Uh, have you met Cheerilee?"

That name sounds familiar. It takes me a moment to remember where I've heard it. "You mean Applebloom's teacher? I can't say that I have yet. Is she nice?"

He just nods in answer. Well, I guess she would have to be nice in order to work as an elementary school teacher. We fall silent again as we finally reach the outskirts of the property. Off in the distance I can see what looks like a carrot farm.

Before we start unloading, I give the fencing here a once over. It's doesn't really look too bad, though a few sections are starting to show some wear and tear. Farther down, I can see couple sections that are almost completely fallen apart.

We unload the tools and a couple long planks and then approach the nearest section of fencing. Mac gives me plenty of instruction while we work to replace the necessary parts. It takes about thirty minutes or so before we head further down to the next section in need of repair.

During this process, Mac doesn't really say much of anything outside the necessary instructions. While I was able to get him to open up a little bit earlier, I'm guessing he still has something that he wanted to discuss. I'm about to try asking another question when he beats me to it.

"So how about yourself, Leon? Do you have a marefriend back home?"

Makes sense after my questioning earlier, I suppose. "Um, no. No, I don't."

He looks up from the nail that he is about to put in. "Do you think you'll be interested in finding one here?"

"Eh, I'm not really sure. If you mean whether I'd be okay dating a pony, I guess I'd have to say yes. I was actually just talking to Twilight about that yesterday. She helped me realize that something like that should not be an issue."

He gives me understanding look before turning back to the task before him. I've mostly just been holding things in place for him while he does the real work. We continue on in near silence for a few minutes before he speaks up again.

"So what's your opinion on herding?"

I believe that I heard Twilight explain that as a term for polygamy here. "Well, I can't say I like the idea that much. I don't want to be judging another culture, but I just can't understand that. I don't think I'd ever be able to share a relationship that way. I mean, if it's real love, how could you try to split it between more than one girl? I mean, mare."

"Hm, I'm glad to hear that. Sounds like you take relationships seriously." Wait, why would he be glad to hear that? I don't have to wonder about that for too long before he gives me hint. "So are you planning to ask out my sister?"

Wow, that was direct and really embarrassing. I stutter a bit as I answer. "U-um, well… I'm… not exactly planning on it."

"Why not?" He doesn't sound offended or anything, just curious.

I can't believe I'm really having this conversation right now. "Uh, you know… we're just friends. I mean, yeah, she's pretty, kind and sweet, but I'd need to know somepony a little longer before dating. You get what I mean?"

He shrugs before we start hefting another plank into position. "I guess. I don't think she'd mind, though." Really? "And I want you to know that I'm okay with it, if you ever get to that point."

Man, I can't believe how serious this has gotten. "Thanks, Mac, that means a lot to me."

He gives me a nod and a smile before he turns serious. "Just… keep in mind that you'll need to answer to me if there're ever any problems."

That sort of sounded like a threat. Of course, I'd probably be saying the same thing if it were my little sister. "I'll keep that in mind."

With that, we return to working with very little chatter. It's about three hours in total before Mac sends me back, saying that he can finish up the last bit. I'm glad to hear that. Though this wasn't as strenuous as working with AJ on the bucking, it's still plenty hot out here.

I tell him farewell and start back down the path on my own. I'm happy that I had a chance to work with Big Mac. We seem pretty similar, and I think we could be good friends given the time.

After walking along in the calming silence, I eventually arrive back at the house. Walking past the barn entrance, I see that the other car is already gone. I guess that means AJ already went to market. Odds are she took Applebloom with her too.

I head inside the house and get some water from the kitchen sink, washing off my face and quenching my thirst. Checking to see if anyone is around, I poke my head into the living room. I guess I haven't really spent any time in there yet, so I take a second to look it over.

It has a hardwood floor like most of the house. On one wall there is a large window facing out toward the front of the house. There's a fireplace that hasn't been used in a while, a small tan loveseat, a long burgundy couch, and a wooden rocking chair, which is currently occupied by a snoozing Granny Smith.

I don't want to bother her, so I just head upstairs to continue checking around. It only takes a minute to confirm that both the girls are gone. With nothing else to do here, I suppose I'll just head into town and find something to do until Applebloom's show and tell.

I head outside and down the road into town. I guess I could go speak to the Cakes, but I was planning to do that after visiting the school, so I could grab lunch there at the same time. Maybe I'll just walk around town for while.

Deciding on that, I head through a part of town that I haven't seen yet. I'm slowly walking along, checking the various shops, and I notice something new. Most of the ponies on the street are actually not staring at me. Huh, maybe word has spread enough that very few are left surprised at the sight of me.

I continue on down the road, not having any particular destination in mind. After a while I see what looks like a park coming into view. I'd call it park because, unlike the rural fields around Ponyville, this one has cobblestone paths, benches, and even a large water fountain. Maybe I can just find a spot to relax around here.

I enter the park, following one of the paths. I can see several ponies scattered around, either chilling on the grass or playing together. Walking along and taking in the sights, I eventually spot a small pond with a stone park bench right next to it. This looks like a decent spot to unwind.

I take a seat on the bench and relax. Man, it feels good to sit after being on my feet all morning. I have my eyes half closed and I'm just listening to the wind and the birds when I hear a cough from my left. I look over to see a familiar mint green pony smiling at me eagerly.

"Hi, there Lyra."

"Hi, Leon. You mind if I sit with you?" She takes a couple steps closer.

I shake my head slightly and wave one hand toward the space to my left. "No, go ahead."

She walks over and hops onto the bench by me. Surprisingly, she does not rest on all four legs like most ponies I've seen, but instead takes a posture similar to mine, with her hind legs in front of her and dangling off the bench. It looks… uncomfortable, but what do I know. I look back out over the pond as she speaks.

"So Leon, I haven't seen you in a few days. What have you been up to?"

"Nothing much really. I'm still just getting used to this place. I've been looking into picking up some part time work and doing a little studying on pony culture."

"That's good to hear. So what do you think of Equestria so far?"

I think for a moment, wondering how to most accurately answer this. "Honestly, it's pretty amazing. Compared to my world, it's like a paradise. I don't just mean the presence of magic and all that, but… I don't know, it seems like everypony here is so much nicer and more accepting. I don't want to think of what would happen if one of you ponies ended up in my world."

"Really? Would it be that bad?"

"Yeah, definitely. Instead of being accepted into someone's home, the pony would probably be sent off to a lab somewhere for study."

Her ears droop at that, and there's several seconds of silence between us. Then, she perks up again and asks another question. "That reminds me, where are you staying at?"

"Sweet Apple Acres, actually. Applejack was the one that found me initially and they all took me in."

She looks slightly disappointed to hear that. "You're…staying with Applejack?"

I'm not sure what she means by that. "Uh, yeah. Her and her family. They've been taking great care of me, and I've been trying to help out around the farm while I'm there. Is there… something wrong with that?" I look her in the eyes, trying to figure out what she's thinking with that expression on her face.

She holds my gaze as she starts to answer, "No, not at all. I was just… um…" She shifts her gaze back out over the water, and I follow suit as she finishes. "Um, nothing. Nevermind."

Hmm. Well I guess I should change the topic, though I'm still confused by that. "Okay then. So Lyra, tell me what you do for a living."

Still gazing out over the pond, she gains a small smile again. "Well, I'm actually a musician. I don't really work regularly, just whenever my group gets a gig."

"Wow, really? I always wanted to pick up an instrument or two. What do you play?"

She gives me an amused smirk before pointing to her cutie mark.

"Oh, right. The harp. I should have been able to guess that."

She giggles, once again looking me in the face. "Actually, it's called a lyre, but it's similar to a harp. Do you enjoy music?"

"Of course, who doesn't?"

She gives a small shrug. "Hmm, I don't know, I guess. Maybe I can play for you. Perhaps over dinner sometime?" She leans toward me slightly with that.

Ugh, are we back to her trying to flirt? "Yeah, maybe. So, tell me about your band. What kind of shows do you do?"

She goes on to tell about several other local musicians that I've not heard of before, and how they typically play for a parties and special events around Ponyville every once in a while. During the conversation, she slowly moves closer, until she almost leaning on me.

When she tells me that they've been practicing some more dramatic songs for the upcoming Nightmare Night, I have to interrupt her. "Wait, nightmare what? What's that?"

She continues to smile as she explains. "You haven't heard of it yet? It's a holiday all about scares and candy and costumes. It's coming up in a few weeks, actually."

Hmm, sounds an awful lot like Halloween. "Does everypony here dress up for it?" After she nods, I ask, "So what are you going as?"

"Oh, I'm not sure yet. I've had a couple ideas, but you'll just have to wait and see." She gives a small wink as she says that.

I wonder if I should look into getting some kind of costume as well. Of course, I don't even know if I'll still be here then. That starts to bring my thoughts back to Twilight and her contacting of the Princess, but I'm shocked from my line of thought by Lyra. While I was thinking, she has leaned in and nuzzled her face against my chest, her eyes being closed and wearing a content smile.

"Uh, Lyra?"

She keeps her eyes closed and speaks into my chest. "Yes, Leon?"

"What are you doing?"

"I would think that's obvious. I'm getting comfortable. Do you not like this?"

"Well, I mean it's okay, but isn't this a little close for friends?"

She turns her head upward and opens her eyes, looking into mine. "I'd… kind of like to be more than friends. What do you think?"

Well, there it is. No more beating around the bush. I scratch the back of my neck as I answer. "Lyra… I'm flattered, but I don't really know you well enough for that. I mean, we just met. How can you already be thinking of dating?"

She backs away a few inches, looking disappointed. "I don't know… I just really like you so far and want to get to know you better. Do you not like me?"

I sigh, thinking of how to do this without hurting her feelings too much. "I do like you, it's just… not like that. I want to get to know you too, though. Maybe I don't know how things work here, but personally I prefer to learn more about a girl… a mare as a friend before I consider dating. I'm sorry."

Her eyes are starting to water up a little bit now. "I understand, Leon. I'm sorry I was being so forward, I just… I don't know." Her ears droop and her eyes point down to the space between us.

Oh man, she looks so sad now. I reach out to pet her mane, and she brings her eyes back to mine as I speak again. "It's alright, don't worry about it. How about we just continue as friends, okay? I mean, if things change from there, so be it, but just remember that these things take time."

She looks a little cheered up, as she leans her head into my hand. "Okay, that sounds good. Thanks, Leon."

I smile as I bring my hand back to my side and stand up. "Don't mention it, Lyra. Now, I'm sorry, but I think I need to get going. I have somewhere to be here soon. I'll see you around, right?"

She gives me a nod, almost back to her normal smiling self. "Yeah, I'll see you Leon. Goodbye."

I give her a small wave as I walk away, leaving her sitting on the bench. Turning back to watch the path in front of me, I start heading in the direction of the school. I try to think of whether there had been any other way to handle that situation while I'm walking, but I don't have long to ponder it before I arrive.

This'll be my first time actually in the school yard or the building itself. I start the short walk up the gentle incline to the one room schoolhouse, and once I reach the door, I knock. It takes a few seconds before the door opens, revealing a new pony in front of me.

This pony reminds me of Pinkie, in that she is almost entirely pink. Her fur is a darker, almost plum color, while her mane and tail are made up of two light shades of pink. Her hair style reminds me of Applebloom's, being all wavy and rounded. Her eyes are a light green, and her cutie marks seems to consist of three yellow flowers with smiley faces on them.

Upon seeing me, her eyes widen to a look of shock for a second before returning to a warm expression. "Ah, you must be Mr. Jefferson. Applebloom told me that you'd be coming in for her show and tell today. They're just finishing up an assignment, so if you want to take a seat in the back, we can begin your introduction shortly."

I give her a quick nod. "Sounds good, thanks Miss…"

"…Cheerilee." She finishes for me. Ah, right, this is the mare that Big Mac is interested in. She steps back and allows me to enter before closing the door.

I have to duck my head slightly as I enter, and when I raise my eyes again, I see that pretty much every filly and colt in the room is staring at me. Looks like there are about twenty-five to thirty of them, each seated at a desk, which are arranged in neat rows. In the front row, I see the three members of the CMC, who are all giving me excited waves and grins.

Cheerilee steps up beside me and addresses the students. "Now, my little ponies, we have a guest today. It seems that Mr. Jefferson here will be taking in part in Applebloom's show and tell. Before that, though, we need to finish up our worksheets, so let's continue working."

With that, most of the foals return their focus back to the papers in front of them. Cheerilee motions me toward one of the empty seats near the back corner, so I start heading that way. Applebloom flashes me another smile as I pass her, which I gladly return.

Reaching the desk in question, I have to take a moment to awkwardly position myself, since this seat is really way too small for someone my size. Finally seated, I glance around at my surroundings. The room is somewhat stereotypical, with a blackboard across the front wall next to larger desk that Cheerilee is now at. Along the right side are a couple bookshelves next to what appears a line of wall pegs for hanging the foal's saddlebags on.

Well, there's not exactly a whole lot of interest, so I take to just looking over the ponies around me. There seems to be a lot more variety in the height and build of the foals than I've seen in the adults. I place my hands behind my head and lean back as I wonder whether these foals are different ages and grades, or if they simply don't all grow at the same rate. Actually, why is there only one class group here? I haven't heard of another school nearby, so these would have to be all the foals in ponyville. It doesn't seem like very many for a village this size.

Anyway, Cheerilee has regained my attention, since she is now having the students pass their papers to the front. With the assignments collected, she places the stack on her desk, and then turns to face the class. The bit of whispering that had started quickly dies out as she speaks.

"Well, now that that's done, I think we can go ahead and start Applebloom's presentation. Applebloom? Mr. Jefferson? Would you come up to the front?"

I extricate myself from this tiny seat and walk toward the front, following Applebloom. Hmm, maybe I should have asked for specifics on exactly what we are doing. I guess I'll just try to follow her lead. I look down to the filly as she addresses her classmates.

"Okay, everypony, this here is my new friend Leon. Say hi, Leon." I give them a small wave at that, before she continues. "Leon recently arrived in Ponyville, and we took him in over at Sweet Apple Acres. We've been having a ton of fun together, and I'm so glad I got to meet him. Um, do you have anything to say, Leon?"

She looks up to me with that last part. Seems like she hadn't really planned this out too much. I just shrug before looking to the foals before me. "How about… does anypony have a question?"

Several small hooves go up across the room. I point to one filly near the front, telling her to go ahead. She has a frizzy red mane, grey fur, and glasses. It seems she also has a bit of a lisp, once she starts her question. "Um, Mishter Jeffershon, what are you? You're not shum kind of big pony, are you?"

"Heh, no, I'm what you would call a human. I haven't seen anything here similar to myself, so it's hard to give an example. Anypony else?"

A skinny colt near the back with white fur and brown hair is next. "So, where did you come from? And how did you get here?"

"Well, I come from a place called earth. It's… similar to Equestria in a lot of ways, but very different too. It's really, really far away from here." I don't think I should try to explain that I'm from a completely separate world. "As for how I got here… I don't actually know. I hope to find out eventually."

The following questions are pretty straight forward from there, mostly consisting of details about my world. I try to explain about some human technology like airplanes and telephones, but they seem kind of confused as to how that sort of thing can happen without magic. There's also a few more questions about me personally, like my age and that sort of thing.

While I'm talking, I notice a couple times that one particular pink and purple filly is giving me the stink eye. She's wearing some kind of little crown thing, which looks absurdly pompous for a classroom. After maybe fifteen minutes, Cheerilee speaks up as I finish answering one particular question.

"Okay, my little ponies, I think that's about enough for today. How about a round of applause to show our thanks for Mr. Jefferson visiting us?" At her request, all the foals start to stamp their front hooves on their seats or desks, giving off a sound somewhat similar to normal clapping.

Cheerilee dismisses the students for their lunch break, and gives me a smile and a nod, signaling that I'm free to go. In the mass of little ponies going back and forth, I've lost sight of Applebloom. She's probably heading to her bag or desk to grab her lunch, so I'll just wait here a minute to say goodbye.

I notice several colts and fillies, including Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle, walking out the door, so I assume that they are allowed to eat outside. The two of them give me a quick wave before heading out.

I glance back over the classroom, checking for Applebloom, and I notice a small group of young ponies gathered near the back. Upon closer inspection, I spot a pink bow in the midst of them, so I step over that way. As I get closer, I hear an unfamiliar voice, and after a few seconds, I realize what's going on.

The same pink and purple filly from earlier is speaking to Applebloom. I note that her cutie mark looks identical to her little crown. "Why in Equestria did you bring that monkey freak here? Did you really think anypony here would want to see that?"

Applebloom for her part is trying to stay calm, but I can tell she is really bothered. "Just leave me alone, Diamond Tiara! Why do you have to be so mean?"

The one known as Diamond Tiara continues, seeming to ignore 'Bloom's comments. "I mean seriously, just because you blank flanks finally found somepony freakier than yourselves, doesn't mean you have to make us all sit through that thing's little talk."

Okay, now I'm mad. I don't care about what she said about me, but I can tell from the way that she spoke that she just called Applebloom something nasty. I step up beside her and ask in as authoritative a voice as I can manage, "What did you just call her?"

The two of them look up to me with very different expressions. The several other young ponies nearby seem to be paying attention now as well. After a brief look of surprise, Tiara's face returns to one of disgust.

"What, you mean 'blank flank'? It's what she is! Which is better than you, since I don't even know what to call you."

I kneel down to rest one hand on Applebloom's neck while facing Tiara. "Let me get this straight. Are you trying to tease her for not having a cutie mark?"

"Of course! She's one of the last ones without a cutie mark. That makes her a freak in my book. Just like you."

I shake my head a bit. I can see that Applebloom appears to be on the verge of tears, so I quickly pick her up and bring her to my chest, keeping one hand on the back of her head and the other underneath her. Still kneeling, I address the other filly before me. "Do you realize how stupid that is? You're making fun of somepony for being what you yourself used to be!"

She glances away and gives me a dismissive wave of her hoof. "Say what you want, it doesn't change the fact that she's a blank flank."

I stand to my feet, still holding Applebloom with her face to my chest. I look down to Tiara and speak again. "She could certainly be a lot worse off. She could be a spoiled little hypocrite who's special talent is wearing a hat."

With that, I turn away and walk out the door. I hear a small growl from Tiara as I go, but she doesn't say anything. I make it outside and look down to the filly in my arms. She's still burying her face in my chest, but I can tell there are some tears there.

I walk down the path to just outside the fence and take a seat leaning up against it, so we'll be less visible. I just sit there rubbing her back, giving her a couple minutes to calm down before I speak up. "Are you alright, 'Bloom?"

She finally pulls back to look up at me and… oh my god, the sight of that adorable face stained with tears. I'm torn between hugging her tightly or simply heading back into that school to punt that brat. I choose to stick with the former, and as I hug her, her small voice is heard. "I'm sorry, Leon…"

Still holding her tight, I respond, "What do you mean? You don't have anything to apologize for."

We wait a few seconds before I loosen my grip, letting her back away a bit and look me in the face again. "It's just… I know I should be used to her teasing by now, but sometimes… sometimes she just really gets to me."

I bring a thumb up to gently wipe the tear marks from her cheeks. "Don't you worry about that, 'Bloom. In fact, don't give that girl another thought, ever. She's just a walking bag of hate and ignorance, and she's not worth the time of somepony as wonderful as yourself."

I finally see a small smile on her face now. "Th-thanks, Leon. You know, you really are like a big brother."

Wow, if her tears earlier were ripping my heart up, her praise now makes it soar. I pull her into another hug as a wide smile spreads over my face. We just sit there for a couple minutes, her cheek nuzzled up against mine, before I finally loosen my hold and allow her to hop to the ground beside me.

"Are you gonna be alright now, 'Bloom?"

She nods as she answers. "I think so, thanks to you. Do you… do you need to go now?"

I scratch my neck as I respond. "Yeah, I guess so. I need to go and speak to somepony. I can stay with you for a while if you'd like, though."

"Nah, it's alright. I should go meet up with Scoots and Sweetie anyway. I'll see you later, right?"

I give her one more pet of her mane before I stand to my feet. "Count on it, 'Bloom."

She gives me a grin before turning and heading back into the schoolyard. I watch her go for a minute before I turn around and start my walk over to Sugar Cube Corner.

Trying to get my mind off what just happened, I focus on getting to my destination. I feel like I might be starting to learn my way around Ponyville finally, since I don't have any mishaps on the way there. After a few minutes, that same gingerbread looking building comes into view, and I make my way to the entrance.

I walk inside and am greeted with the heavenly aroma of surgery baked goods. I take a deep breath before looking around the shop. There's a couple ponies that I don't recognize seated at one of the tables in the corner. I don't see anyone behind the counter, but I do hear some shuffling from back there.

I approach the counter and call out, "Mrs. Cake? Is that you back there?"

I get right up next to the counter when the shuffling stops and out pops a familiar pink pony, her face just a couple inches from mine. "Nope! Just your bestest friend Pinkie Pie here!"

"Oh, hi Pinkie. Where's Mrs. or Mr. Cake?"

She quickly retracts her head back to a normal distance, leaning on the counter with her front hooves. "Oh, they're out to lunch. I'm watching the shop all by myself! What brings you here, Leon?"

I open my mouth to answer, but she continues. "Oh, I remember! You're here looking for work, right!? Right?" She drops to all four and starts to hop in place. "Well, if it were up to me, I'd hire you right now! Buuutt…we gotta speak to the Cakes first. They left me in charge, but I don't think they'd let me make changes like that during their break."

I'm about to agree with her, but she cuts me off again, still hopping. "So, anything else I can help you with in the meantime? Have you had lunch yet? Ooh, I hope not, I'd love for you to try out this new recipe I've been working on. Could you, please, huh, huh, huh? I'm sure you'll like it and-"

Finally, I'm the one to interrupt her by placing my hand over her mouth. She freezes and looks me in the eye. "Pinkie, please calm down a little, alright?" After she gives a nod of agreement, I remove my hand from her muzzle and continue. "Yes, lunch would be great, and I'd be glad to try anything that you cook. Do you know when the Cakes'll be back?"

She shakes her head. "Not really. They usually don't take more than an hour, but they ARE the bosses, so they can stay out as long as they want. So, what would you like?"

"Um, I don't know. I guess a couple of those muffins from the other day, in addition to this new recipe of yours, and… you do milkshakes, right?" After she confirms that they do, I order one of those as well, a strawberry-vanilla swirl.

"Okii-dokey. You can have a seat, and I'll have your food out in a jiffy." She gestures toward one of the unoccupied tables and then saunters back into the kitchen, her poofy hair bouncing as she goes.

'Oh, that pony.' I think to myself as I head over and take a seat. Just as I'm seated though, I hear the front door open behind me. I'm wondering who will help this new customer when I hear a familiar voice call out, "Ah, Leon, you're here!"

I turn around in my seat to see that Twilight Sparkle has walked in and is now approaching me. She's wearing a friendly smile, and looks glad to see me.

"Hi, Twilight. Want to join me for lunch?" I wave a hand toward the seat opposite me as I ask.

"Why sure, I'd love to." She canters over and takes a seat across from me. "How are things going with you, Leon?"

"Just fine, I think. I just came over from the schoolhouse, where Applebloom was introducing me to her classmates."

"Really? I bet she loved that."

I'm about to go on when Pinkie comes back in from the kitchen, carrying presumably my order on her back. Pretty quick service, I note to myself. She walks up to us and starts to greet Twilight. Huh, I didn't realize that they already knew each other too. Seems like all the ponies here know everyone, pretty much.

Anyway, Pinkie drops off my order on the table and asks Twilight if she wants to order anything as well. She does, and ends up asking for a slice of cake and a smoothie. Pinkie quickly heads to the kitchen again, and Twilight turns back to me.

"You know, Leon, I was actually going to head to Sweet Apple Acres later to speak to you. It was convenient to bump into you here."

"Really? Well, what's up, Twilight? Wait… did you hear back from the Princess?" I feel a little nervous as she nods. This could be it. The news about whether I'll be going home or not. "And…?"

Twilight looks a bit worried, and starts wringing her front hooves together. "Well, um, she actually didn't give an answer about sending you back to your world."

"What do you mean? What DID she say, then?"

"All she said was… that she'd like to speak to you as soon as possible."

Whoa, the ruler of the country wants to see me. Is that a good thing? "You mean, like face to face?"

Twilight lowers her hooves and nods. "Yes, in Canterlot. At the palace, specifically."

"Wow…" I slump back in my seat, looking at nothing in particular as I consider this. Princess Celestia, the ruling monarch of this country, wants to see me. That's… pretty big.

Why, though? Why couldn't she answer the question? Does she need to discuss it with me personally, or… aw dang, suddenly I'm remembering my discussion with Lyra. What if Celestia is looking to capture and study me? Invite me to the capitol and then… well okay, if that were the case, she'd probably send somepony here to take me.

Still, I'm really stressing over this. I'm feeling a dull headache near the back of my skull, and I'm sure I'm probably red in the face. Twilight is of course watching my reaction. She gives me moment before speaking. "Leon, are you alright?"

I look back to her before answering. Looks like Pinkie brought out her order while I was thinking. I'm surprised she didn't intrude into the conversation, but it probably had something to do with my expression. "I guess so. It's just… pretty serious to be summoned by the princess, isn't it?"

"I suppose…"

I'm still worried over Celestia's motives here. "Twilight, how well do you know her?"

She perks up at that question. "Oh, I've known the Princess since I was a little filly. She taught me everything I know and essentially raised me until I graduated from the academy. She's practically a second mother to me." She suddenly looks like she regrets saying that. "Uh, don't tell her I said that, okay?"

I almost chuckle at that. "So what do you think her reason is for calling me to Canterlot?"

"I'm sure she just wants to meet and welcome you personally. She's probably curious about your unique situation, and wishes to hear you describe it yourself. I mean, what other reason could there be?"

Maybe I should not mention my worries to her. "Yeah, you're probably right…"

She gains a big grin at her next thought. "Leon, I'm sure you're going to love her. She's the most amazing, kind, and understanding mare that I've ever met. She really does care for every single pony in her kingdom, and she has done so much to ensure our peace and safety. I know that you're going to get along just fine."

Ah, she thinks I'm worried that the Princess won't like me. "Thanks, Twilight. I feel a little better about this." I really do, after hearing her go on about the Princess. I've calmed down a bit, and the headache is nearly gone.

She gives me a confident nod. "Good. Now, onto the details. When do you want to go?"

"Eh, I don't know. It's not like I have any real responsibilities yet. Wait a sec…" Man, I probably should not be setting up a job when I don't know how this meeting is going to turn out. I might be sent back to my world or taken captive or who knows what. "Well, yeah, no responsibilities yet. Um, how about tomorrow?"

"Sounds good to me. The sooner the better. I assume you won't mind if I escort you there?"

Ha, like I'd want to do this alone. "I'd prefer it actually."

She gives a very small blush as she continues. "Okay then, so tomorrow we can take the late morning train into-"

"Whoa there, girl. Did you just say train?"

She gives me credulous nod. "Yes. Is there something weird about that?"

"Not really I guess. It's just that that is the most advanced technology I've heard of here. I'm surprised you ponies don't just run everything on magic."

She's looking very confused now. "But they DO run on magic. What else would they use?"

Of course. "Hmm, nevermind. So, train tomorrow?"

She looks like she wants to continue that line of conversation, but decides not to. "Yes… as I was saying, we can take the late morning train. The trip takes about two hours altogether. I'll message Celestia tonight and see if she wants to meet over lunch. You two can have your conversation, and then, if you like, we could take a look around Canterlot before the return trip."

"Sounds good to me. So how much does the ticket cost?"

Twilight actually giggles at that. "You don't need to worry about that, Leon. Princess Celestia invited you, so she'll want to cover your expenses."

"That makes sense. If anyone could easily cover that sort of thing, it'd be the princess. I'm glad, since I don't' really want to keep being a burden to…" Applejack. Will she want to go with me? I know I'd feel better with her there… which I want to say is just because she's been such a good friend. Anyway, "Hey, Twilight, do you think it'd be okay if Applejack came too?"

For a split second, she has an out of place expression. It looked sort of like disappointment, but then she's smiling again, just like before. "Why of course she can. If she can take the day off from work, that is."

I smile, suddenly feeling much better about this trip. "Cool, I'll ask her later. So, um, we meet at the train station, head to Canterlot, talk to Celestia, maybe do some sight-seeing, and head back."

"Yes, that's about it, I think." I get the feeling that we both want to just continue assuming that I'll be coming back from this. It'd… be unsettling to plan otherwise.

With that decided, we both finally start eating our meals. By this point, my milkshake has melted a bit, but it all still tastes amazing. It turns out that Pinkie's new idea was a triple chocolate coffee flavored cupcake, which seems quite appropriate coming from her. I've never been real big on coffee, but it's still amazing, and I make sure she hears that.

She's so ecstatic to hear it, that she tries to tell me the meal is on the house. I remind her of our previous conversation, and , after some convincing, she lets me pay, though with a discount. I've used up almost all the bits that AJ gave me before, reminding me that I'll need to set up some kind of income. You know, if I'm still here later.

I tell Pinkie to hold off on the work situation here for now, and then Twilight and I say goodbye to her before heading outside. I'm headed to the market to see AJ, which is the opposite direction from the library, so this is where we go our separate ways.

"So, 10:30 at the station tomorrow?" I ask her after turning to face her.

"Indeed. Don't be late, okay?" She hops up on her hind legs to give me hug, which I'm happy to return, along with her request.

"Of course. You be on time too."

As we let go and separate, she's wearing a rather cute pout on her face. "Leon, I'm ALWAYS on time."

Ah hah, looks like I've found something to tease her about in the future. "Okay, I believe you. Bye, Twilight."

She turns to walk off, while calling over her shoulder, "Goodbye, Leon."

Okay, time to talk to AJ. I make my way over to the market street to find it extremely busy. There's hardly any room for me to get through as I meander toward the now familiar Apple family stand. It looks like AJ is just as busy, if not more so, as the other vendors here. She's got quite the line built up in front of her, and she seems to be unloading apples as fast as she can while taking their orders.

I walk up beside her while she is helping a stallion load his saddle bag, and say, "Hey there, Applejack. Keeping busy?"

She glances over and beams at me before speaking. "Howdy, Leon. You have pretty good timing there. Want to help me out?"

"Sure thing. What can I do?" I step over closer to the cart.

"If you could just help me with passing out orders, making sure that they get the correct amount and only the good apples, that'd be great."

"Okay, I can do that. By the way, I need to speak to you later. It's sort of important."

She pauses halfway through accepting some bits from a mare to look over at me, somewhat concerned. "Sure thing, sugarcube. Now can you get this mare two dozen?"

We go on like that for a while, her doing the transactions and me unloading and loading. I get to see AJ in action here, though there's really not a ton of haggling since her merchandise is fairly straightforward. She typically sells the apples two for one, but she does give slight discounts for larger purchases.

We're going for about forty minutes before the crowd finally starts to die down. The timing is good, since we are just about out of stock for the day too. I'm slowly gathering the final order for a couple mares when AJ walks over.

"Thanks a bunch for helping, Leon. Things were a bit busier than usual today."

"Don't mention it, Applejack. I'm happy to help." I give the two mares a wave as they walk off, their order safely loaded into their bags.

She drops a couple sacks into the cart before continuing. "Now, I know you wanted to talk, but I have something I need to go take care of. Would you mind taking this back to the farm? I won't be too long, and we can talk after I get back."

"Yeah, sure, I can do that. What are you doing though? Would you like me to come with you?"

She scratches the back of her neck, looking just slightly nervous. "Eh, no thanks, I just need to go… place an order. Nothing real interesting."

"Oh… okay." Is Applejack actually hiding something? Hmm, it's probably not anything serious. "Well, I'll get going then."

"I'll see you in a while." With that she turns and heads off down the street. I walk over to the cart and start removing the harness, as I'm obviously not going to be using that. Once undone, I toss it in the cart and stand in between the two arms of the cart. I grab both the arms on either side of me and give it a test pull, finding it to move quite easily.

With that done, I start walking down the road back towards the farm, pulling the cart rickshaw style. With nothing but empty baskets in it, it's not too strenuous, and the walk back home is fairly uneventful, though slightly slower than normal.

Arriving back at the farm, I pull the cart into the barn and park in the normal corner. Grabbing the two sacks of bits, I take them inside and drop them off on the kitchen counter before heading back outside.

Hmm, no sign of Granny or Mac, and AJ and 'Bloom are still in town. Not really sure what to do, I decide to just take a seat over against the barn again and relax. This gives me a little time to consider my trip tomorrow. While I am worried about whether Celestia can send me back (and whether I want her to), I'm more interested in what it'll be like to meet such an ancient being.

Being over a millennia old, I'm sure she's going to be nothing but wrinkles and gray hair. What with all the compliments Twilight had about her, I'm imagining her as a very grandmotherly figure. I'm interrupted from my line of though by a yell from the farm entrance.

"Hi Leon!" I hear as the little yellow filly comes running up to me, wearing her saddle bag. "What you up to out here?"

I give her a shrug. "Nothing much. Just sort of waiting around for your sister."

She gives me a smile at that. "Really? You're just waiting to see my sis?"

"Uh, yeah. I need to talk to her about something. Actually…" I suppose I need to let Applebloom know as well. Might as well be now. "… I guess I have some news for you too. Wanna have a seat?"

I pat the ground next to me, but after she drops her saddle bag, she instead hops into my lap. I can't help but smile as she curls up and gets comfortable. Once settled, she looks up to me and asks, "So what's up?"

I start to pet her mane as I begin. "Well, it seems that Princess Celestia wants to speak to me. I'm gonna head to Canterlot tomorrow with Twilight."

"Wow, really? I'm sure you'll like her. She's so nice!"

I give her a surprised expression. "Wait, are you saying you've met her too?"

She nods. "Yep, a couple times. I mean, we never talked real long, but she's been around. She's such a good leader."

Wow, even Applebloom has met this Princess Celestia. That makes me feel a bit better, knowing that she likes her as well. "I'll take your word for it, I guess."

From there, we just talk for a while about her classes, with her especially going on about a review that they had on Ponyville history. I continue to just sit and pet her mane as I listen, and after a while we fall into a comfortable silence.

I'm pretty sure 'Bloom is almost dozing off when we both hear the sound of hooves approaching from around the corner of the barn. I look over just as AJ comes into view, looking both happy and amused. "I thought I might find you two out here."

I just give her a smile and a wave as Applebloom lets out a yawn. "Hiya, Sis."

"Hey there, Applebloom. You hogging the human pillow all to yourself again?"

'Bloom gives a confident grin and a "Eeyup."

AJ and I both get a chuckle from that before I speak up. "I don't exactly mind, you know."

AJ saunters over and takes a seat next to me. "Yeah, I'd imagine you wouldn't. So, did you still want to talk about something, Leon?"

"Oh, uh, yeah, I do. Um, Applebloom…" I look down to the filly in my lap, who quickly understands.

"Right, I gotcha." She stands to her hind legs and leans against me for a quick nuzzle before hopping from my lap and walking off. As she leaves, carrying her bag again, she calls out, "I'll just give you two some aloooone time."

My eyes roll upward at that comment, while AJ yells out Applebloom's name. I hear the sound of giggling and the filly's little hoofsteps speeding up until they are out of earshot. When I eventually peek over at AJ still sitting next to me, she looks as embarrassed as I feel.

"Sorry about that, Leon."

"Don't sweat it. She's just having fun."

She gains a small smile at that. "Heh, yeah. So, what'd you want to talk about?"

"Right, um…" I start off telling her that Princess Celestia responded, and how she has requested to see me in Canterlot.

"Hoo-whee. Meeting the Princess already? You're awfully popular, Leon."

"Well, I don't know if I'd say that. More like I'm just… exotic here. So, um, Twilight and I are heading to Canterlot tomorrow, and I was wondering if you'd like to join us."

She leans into my shoulder, prompting a warm grin from me both by her contact and her answer. "Aww, I'd love to, Sugarcube. I know this is going to be a big deal for you, meeting royalty and finding out about going home. Speaking of which… uh, have you come to a decision on that?"

"No, not really. I've been thinking about it, but I'm just so torn. I love my brother, but I also love this place and… Applebloom too, I guess." Of course, she's not the only reason for me to stay.

"Yeah, she has that effect on most ponies. Um, you know…" She's still leaning into me, but she now looks a bit nervous. "…I think Applebloom loves you back, but you should know that I… I mean, we all do too. I know I said I'd be happy for you if you can get home, but… I have to be honest with you."

She turns her head up to look me in the face, and I look over to stare into those green eyes. She continues, "I… I really want you to stay."

Wow. I can't… even describe how happy I am to actually hear those words from her. I'm not even certain why it means so much to me. "Thank you , Applejack. That means a lot, especially coming from you."

She gains a slight rose color to her cheeks as she averts her gaze for a second. "Heh, yeah. So, um… could you do it? Stay, I mean. For all of us?"

She's brought her eyes back to meet mine, and as I look into that viridian gaze, I quickly think over all the friends I've made in my short time here, especially Applebloom. I also consider how, while I do love my brother, he's developing into his own person and doesn't really need me anymore. When I think of it that way, the choice suddenly seems so obvious.

"Y-yes. I think… I can."

Her smile is now bigger than I've ever seen it. "Really? You'll stay?"

I answer with just a nod and a smile of my own. In a flash of orange, suddenly her front legs are wrapped around my neck in a warm hug, with her cheek pressed up against mine. "I'm… I'm so happy to hear that."

I place my arms around her as I feel my eyes start to water up a little. It feels… amazing. I don't mean just this hug, but also being able to finally make this completely life altering decision. We just sit there in that embrace for a minute or two, before we finally separate. Getting another look at her face, I can see that she was on the verge of tears as well.

She gives her eyes a quick wipe with her hoof and tries to avoid eye contact. She takes her seat next to me and leans into me again, this time resting her head on my shoulder. It's just another moment of happy silence before she speaks again.

"So, do you still want to speak to Princess Celestia?"

Hmm, good question. She is the ruler here, though. What if she makes me leave anyway? "I think I have to, right? I mean, she did summon me."

"I suppose you're right." Her eyes are closed now, and she looks very relaxed.

"So, we're still on for tomorrow then? You still want to come with me?"

"Of course, sugarcube. I wouldn't miss it for anything."

Despite this meeting tomorrow, I feel reassured knowing that both AJ and Twilight will be there with me. I've known them for such a short time it seems, but I can't imagine doing this without them.

As I think over all the other friends I've made this week, I reach my arm around AJ's shoulders to hold her in a one-arm hug. Her eyes still closed, she lets out a happy sigh and manages to snuggle closer.

We continue sitting there, both of us relaxing and me watching the sun slowly set. I can't describe how happy I am with where my life has ended up, and while I'm looking forward to meeting the country's ruler, I still feel a bit of worry over how this meeting will go. Will she send me back home by force? Will she banish me from Equestria? Will she be okay with a human living here?

As I sit here, holding Applejack and fearful for tomorrow, all I can think is that I wish this moment would last forever.


	7. Chapter 7

Author's Note:

Here it is, chapter 7. And a day late, ugh! Oh well, better late than really, really, late, right? I think we are almost finished with the introductory arc, probably one more chapter before the next one starts, but who knows, anything could happen.

Oh right, a note that actually matters. I changed chapter 6 a bit, adding about 1000 words or so. The note in that chapter will explain why. If you did not read the version with Diamond Tiara, you might want to check it out again, though it's not exactly a huge impact on the overall story.

Joeker: Thanks for your advice, you and one other individual were the confirmation I needed to edit chapter 6, I really appreciate your honesty. On that note, you can pm or review, whichever you prefer. If it's something specific that you like or dislike (such as the school scene), reviews would be helpful for informing others as well. If it's "cool story bro," maybe just pm, but again, whichever you prefer is fine by me.

Morzan191: Thank you again, you're an encouragement to such a newb writer as myself. As for Twilight… we'll just have to wait and see!

MMM: Read on and find out…

Guest: I know right? Sometimes I worry about the feels being too much. I think it has to do with the rather unplanned way I write. Sort of like with Applebloom, I didn't really mean for her to have so many scenes, but… well… I just couldn't say no. (shrug)

Chapter 7:

I awake this morning to the sunlight just starting to stream in my window. I feel as if I was having a very good dream, since I'm smiling, but I can't remember it for the life of me. Oh well.

As I start to wake up fully, I take note of the warm fuzzy lump at my side, indicating that Applebloom is still asleep as well. I roll over carefully to see her curled up in the crook of my arm. I wonder if she's ever going to go back to sleeping by herself. I sort of hope not.

Okay, so I crawl out of bed and get dressed, as usual, before heading to the restroom to brush my teeth. I can't stand morning breath, uguah…

Once finished, I reenter my room and bend over the sleeping filly. "Applebloom… time to get up…"

She starts to grumble before rolling over and letting out an incredibly cute yawn. She half opens her eyes and looks up to me. "'Morning there, Leon."

"Good morning , 'Bloom." With that, I scoop her up in my arms, eliciting a bit of a giggle from her. "Ready to head to breakfast?"

She swipes a hoof through her mane. "Eh, I think I need to get my mane fixed first."

"Yeah, you probably should." I reach up and ruffle her hair, chuckling at the same time.

"Hey, you're not supposed to say that to a lady!"

Stopping in front of the bathroom, I carefully lower her to the floor. "Oh, my mistake, miss. I meant to say that your sloppy bedhead looks divine."

She sticks out her tongue at me before giggling and walking into the restroom. I turn and walk downstairs to help Granny with setting up breakfast. She's already got everything prepared, so all I'm doing is bringing it to the table, where I find Big Mac seated and reading a newspaper.

Once all set up, I take my seat just before AJ and Applebloom come walking downstairs. We all dig in, making small talk and reviewing the plans for the day. AJ and I had told the others at dinner last night about our trip, so there's not much explanation needed now. Big Mac agrees to help AJ and I with the bucking this morning to ensure we're not late for our train.

Once finished eating, Granny starts on the clean up while Mac and AJ head outside. Applebloom's about to start helping her grandmother, but I pick her up suddenly and bring her into a hug.

She's a bit surprised. "What's up, Leon? You're not usually this cuddly."

I'll just ignore being described as 'cuddly' for now. "Well, I don't think I can walk you to school today, so I just wanted to say goodbye now. So… goodbye, 'Bloom." I don't want to explain that there's a small chance this might be the last time I see her.

I'm pretty sure she realizes that there is something up, but she doesn't ask about it. Instead, she just returns the hug and nuzzles against my cheek for a second. "Goodbye, Leon. I'll see you tonight, right?"

Ah, she does suspect something. "If I have any say in it, definitely." It's true. Even if Celestia does make me leave, I'll do everything I can to say goodbye to this filly first.

I lower her back to the floor and we go our separate way, with her into the kitchen and me to the outdoors. Meeting up with the two farm ponies near the barn, I see that Mac is already hooked up to the cart and they are about to start. I join them and we head into the orchard.

We do the usual, with me taking care of setup and lifting, while they do the bucking and checking over of the apples. At some point, I really need to ask them if they have some sort of system for which section of the orchard they harvest each time. Thus far, it seems like we've been working in the same general area all week.

Anyways, the chores pass without much incident. It does go a bit faster with both ponies working, but I get about the same amount of lifting in. Doing the same amount of work in less time leaves me sweating more than usual, so after the final load is brought in and Mac is headed to town, AJ and I both agree to get cleaned up first.

Makes sense, I think. Wouldn't want to meet the princess smelling all sweaty, right? So, AJ takes the restroom first while I go to pick out some clothes. Looking through my options, I eventually pick out some tan slacks, a dark blue dress shirt, and a dark purple tie. I'm not one for ties typically, but again, meeting royalty today.

Now that I think about it, there's something weird about these three ties that Rarity made for me. There's the one I'm wearing, the purple, and the other two are solid cyan and light grey, respectively. Hmm, there's something about that color combination…

Oh well. I grab my clothes, drape them over my arm, and head out into the hall to wait next to the restroom door. I'm only waiting a couple minutes before I hear the water shut off. Another minute or so and I hear the door open next to me. I glance over to see AJ walking out. Both her mane and tail are untied and a bit damp looking.

She gives me a quick smile before turning down the hall and calling over her shoulder, "It's all yours, Leon."

Man, she should really wear her hair down more often. Anyway, back to business. I enter the restroom and quickly take a shower and shave, grateful that Mac had been able to recommend me to a place to buy a razor recently. I give myself a once over in the mirror, making sure that I did not miss anything. Personally, I like to keep completely clean shaven, though I'm typically too lazy to shave every day.

I note with mild interest that I seem a tiny bit darker than I used to. That's probably from working out in the sun much more than I ever did back home. My light brown hair looks fine, I think. I've never liked to gel it or anything like that, so it usually just sits flat. Hmm, I wonder what I'll do once it needs to be trimmed. I'm not sure that pony barbers (if there are such things) would know how to handle my preferably short hair.

Moving on. Everything looks acceptable to me, so I give my face a quick wash before heading downstairs. I'm double checking that my tie is the right length, though for the life of me, I cannot remember whether it's supposed to go to the top or bottom of the belt. Well, where the belt would be if I were wearing one. I didn't ask Rarity for one, so I actually don't have one. Guess I should be grateful that I don't need one to keep my pants up yet, due to all my clothes being made to exactly my size.

I walk downstairs, still fidgeting with my tie, and meet AJ down near the dining room. There's no sign of Granny Smith, and I'm pretty sure Applebloom already left for school.

As I enter the room, AJ gives me a quick once over before commenting, "Looking pretty good there, Leon."

I chuckle, realizing that, by human standards, I actually look pretty funny wearing semi formal clothes with old tennis shoes and no belt. "Yeah, thanks. You look good too, as usual." Oh, dang, I didn't really think that over before I spoke. It's true though. She's wearing her usual Stetson and has her hair tied up again, but it looks great.

"Aww, thanks Sugarcube. Ready to mosey?"

I give her a nod and motion toward the front door. "I think so. Shall we?"

She nods and we head out the door and down the toward the farm entryway. We talk a little on the way, but not about anything of importance. It does not take too long before we reach Ponyville proper. AJ has to take the lead from here, since I've no idea where the train station is.

I'm following her for about five minutes before it comes into view, though it's not what I typically imagined for a train station. It's really just one small building for the ticket booth and information, and then a raised roof covering a small section of the tracks, where the train is sitting. And that train… oh man, it looks like something from a little girl's play set, being decorated with pastels and hearts.

Well, I draw my eyes away from that eyesore to see a familiar purple unicorn approaching from the ticket booth. As she comes closer I can see that she has three tickets floating nearby in her magic.

"Hello, Leon, Applejack."

I give her a wave and AJ greets her as well, "Howdy, Twi. Yall ready to go?"

She nods and floats two tickets over to AJ and myself. "Here you go. It's about to leave, so we should get going."

I sound my agreement with that. "Yeah, let's get going." I take the lead as we walk over to the first car behind the train engine, and we each offer our tickets to the pony standing at the entrance. He deftly tears them and returns the stubs before we enter the car.

The ceiling is a little bit low in here, only being an inch or so over my head. It makes me instinctively droop my neck a bit. I look around to see that each side of the car is lined with backless seats. Considering the way ponies usually sit, I guess that's not too weird.

Twilight takes a seat across the middle of one seat and I sit across from her, taking a look out the window. AJ saunters over and sits between me and the window, propped up on her haunches. She's seated very close to me, but I think I've gotten fairly used to these ponies being overly affectionate.

Looks like we were just in time, as the train is starting to lurch into motion, and I see the scenery slowly accelerating past outside. This is supposed to be long ride from what I heard, so I decide to start up some conversation. "Hey, Twilight, how much do you know about Canterlot?"

I look over to her to see that she is apparently staring at the small space between AJ and myself, looking almost disappointed. Her expression quickly changes though, as she brings her gaze to meet mine. "Oh, um, a good bit, I guess. Have I told you that I used to live there?"

I raise an eyebrow slightly at that. "No, I don't think you have. When was that?"

"Well, it was for most of my life actually. I was born and raised there. I came to Ponyville when I was sixteen on assignment from the Princess. Before that, I lived at the palace."

"Wait, what? At the palace? Are you related to royalty or something?"

She gives a small giggle. "Um, no. I am… well was, I guess, the Princess' personal student up until I graduated. She took me in when I was six years old. My parents entered me into her school for unicorns, but at the entrance exam, she decided to take me under her wing, and I stayed with her from then on."

"Wow, that's incredible. I knew that you're really smart and everything, but I had no idea you were that talented with magic."

She averts her gaze and gains a light lush. "Oh, it's not that big of a deal. I'm not really that good, I just love to study."

AJ, who's been following our conversation with a gentle smile, speaks up here. "Aw come on, Twi. There's no need to be modest. I'm pretty sure you're one of the most powerful unicorns in all of Equestria."

"Thanks, Applejack, but I wouldn't exactly say that."

We fall into a short silence as we each look out the window and watch the scenery go by. After a moment of thought, I realize that I have not told Twilight yet bout my big decision. I clear my throat before speaking up.

"Hey, uh, Twilight. I guess I have some news to share with you."

She looks over to me with a curious expression. "What is it, Leon?"

"Um, so I… uh, made a decision yesterday." I glance over a AJ real quick and see her smiling. Looking back to Twi, I continue, "I've decided to…stay. If I can, at least."

"You mean, you want to stay in Equestria?"

As I give a nod, she jumps over to the seat beside me and grips my torso in a tight hug. "Oh, I'm so glad to hear that! The thought of you leaving was really making me sad. So, what convinced you to stay?"

I set one hand on her mane as I answer. "Well, AJ just helped me realize what all I'd be leaving here if I did go."

Twi leans forward to look at AJ on my other side. "Well, thank you Applejack. This is the best news I've heard in quite a while."

AJ just gives a happy smile and nod in response. I speak up again, wanting to clarify the situation. "Of course, this is only if I'm allowed to stay. It's sort of up the princess, I think, right?"

Twilight tightens her hug around me for a second before letting go and leaning back, with me removing my hand as she does so. She stays in the seat next to me though. "Well, yes, she could make the decision to have you leave, but why in Equestria would she do that?"

I give a slight shrug. "I don't know really. I mean, I'm an unknown race in her country. If she thinks I'm dangerous or something, it'd be in her best interest, right?"

AJ answers here before Twilight can, causing me to turn back toward her. "Well, Leon, you don't exactly come off as a real dangerous sort, you know."

Twilight nods in agreement. "I wouldn't worry about that. That's sort of the point of this meeting, I suppose. She wants to meet you and hear your story, straight from the… human's mouth." I chuckle at her word choice there, but she continues, "I'm sure she'll like you just as much as we do. I'll vouch for you, if necessary, though I think she's already aware of my opinion."

AJ echoes the sentiment. "Same here, Leon. We'll do whatever we can to make sure you can stay, though like Twi said, I don't think it'll be problem."

That's really heartwarming to hear, especially coming from two of my closest friends. I reach an arm around each of them and pull them both into a light hug. "Thanks, girls. I feel much better about this meeting, now. I'm really grateful you both came with me."

We all share grins back and forth before I let go and we each settle back into our seats. We've got another hour and forty minutes left, so I let the two of them know I'm just gonna take a nap. Since these benches are wide and back-less, all I have to do is lean backward till I'm laying flat. I place my hands behind my head and close my eyes. I can hear the two mares next to me talking quietly as I start to doze off.

….

I lurch to consciousness as I feel the train start to decelerate. I rub my eyes and note the relative silence around me. Opening my eyes, I look downward to see a certain freckled blonde sleeping with her head on my thigh. Twilight has returned to her seat across the way, and is looking out the window.

Following her gaze, I look outside too. "Whoa…" Just outside, I can see tons of really tall buildings close by. I mean, some of these are at least twenty stories tall. I had no idea ponies were capable of this kind of construction. I sit up and brace myself with both my arms behind me as I try to get a better look.

Twilight looks over to me after hearing me move around. "Ah, good you're awake. We'll be at the station in just a few minutes."

I give her a nod before looking back down to Applejack. She's looking very peaceful and content. I lean forward and whisper to her, "Hey, Applejack. We're here."

She starts to stir, letting out a mumble and a yawn before slowly sitting back up. She rubs her eyes for a second before looking to me. "Well, you ready for this, Leon?"

As the train finally starts to come to a stop, I answer, "Heh, I hope so."

We all rise to our feet (and hooves) and start heading to the exit as it opens. We step outside and I get my first good look at the city. Of course, all I see for now is the station, which is much larger than the one in Ponyville. There are several trains parked in the area, and the entire station is inside of a large hanger type building, where the front side is completely open.

We start making our way through the crowds toward the front of the building, with me making sure to stick close to my two friends. Once outside the station, Twilight calls out, "This way," and starts leading our little group down the street.

I guess we are heading straight to the palace, but I pass the time by taking in the sights around me. As I saw before, the buildings here are much larger than in Ponyville, mostly being large spire type structures built from pastels. Down closer to ground level, I also notice some differences in the ponies themselves.

While in Ponyville, about half the ponies are of the earth variety, it seems like three quarters of the locals here are unicorns. What's more noticeable, though, is that they are almost all wearing some kind of clothing. The ponies I'm used to are usually au natural, but these are wearing various types of "upper class" clothing, including coats, gowns, eyeglasses, and all sorts of jewelry.

I also notice that I'm getting lots of stares, much like my initial arrival in Ponyville, but these don't seem the same. Back home, the ponies seemed to just be really curious, but these looks I'm getting now, seem sort of… judgmental and pompous. Who knows, maybe I should not be judging them without knowing the culture here a bit more.

Anyways, we make our way through the streets at a good pace, with Twilight occasionally pointing out places she remembers, mostly consisting of different restaurants or stores that she has been to. She gets a bit excited as we pass a rather large library, and AJ and I have to half drag her away to keep from getting sidetracked.

Without too many distractions, we eventually make our way to what is obviously the palace. The palace seems much larger at first, though I think it is because there is more open spae between the different towers here. The style of the building is different too, consisting of mostly white wall with gold accents and either blue or dark purple roofs.

We make our way up to some large golden looking gates that have two guards standing attention. Yep, guards. These guys are the first semblance of military I've seen in this land, as they are decked out in partial golden colored armor. They also seem to be the same exact fur colors, which is a bit odd in this world.

The gates are open, so we just start to walk through, but only after Twilight stops to let one of the guards know that we are here to see the Princess. He gives a small nod, but does not break his disciplined gaze straight forward. We approach the large front doors (and I do mean LARGE) of the palace, and two more guards here use their magic to open the doors as we approach.

We head through, as I quietly tell them thanks. I hear the doors close behind me as I take in the huge entry hall before me. There are many doors on either side of this room, but what's really eye-catching is the large, grandiose looking stairway straight ahead. It goes up about half way to the next floor, before splitting up to either side and reaching the next landing.

The three of us just stand there for a few seconds, and while I'm trying to take in all the architecture here, I hear a voice call out from upstairs. "Aw, Twilight Sparkle and Applejack, you have arrived."

I glance over to the top of the stairs to see a dark blue pony prancing down from the right side. This pony, though… she's like nothing I've seen yet. I look her over as she continues down the stairs.

The first thing I notice is her hair and mane. They're primarily a dark blue, just a shade lighter than her fur, with a light blue edge. The weird thing is that they both seem to be continually billowing, as if in a gentle breeze, though there isn't one here. As she gets closer, I think I can see something sparkling in the dark blue parts of her hair and tail, almost like stars in a night sky.

The next thing I note is that she's wearing what appears to be a black crown and some kind of very thick black necklace, which bears the a moon symbol. She also has some grayish blue slippers on all four hooves, which sparkle similarly to her hair.

Finally, I notice the more natural parts of her appearance, realizing that the moon on her necklace is actually a match to her cutie mark, which is set in a large dark patch. Her eyes are a dark teal, I think. Over all, she seems relatively tall compared to the other ponies, being about one and a half times their height, coming almost up to my chin, not counting her horn.

Speaking of which… she has both a horn AND wings. Whoa, I guess that means this is an alicorn, which then means she is a princess. Which one, though? Twilight said there are three, though she looks way too young to be Celestia.

Anyhow, getting past my weird habit of categorizing ponies… She reaches the bottom of the stairs and looks me in the face. "And you must be Mr. Leon Jefferson, correct?"

"Um, yes, I am. And you are?"

Her lips curve into a very small smile. "I am Princess Luna. It's a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Jefferson, though you may address me as Luna."

A bit too late, I give her a bow. "Uh, okay. You can call me Leon, if you like."

She continues to give that small smile while looking me over. "Quite…"

Twilight speaks up here, maybe noticing that I'm not certain how to address a princess. "It's great to see you again, Luna."

AJ is quick to agree, "Right, it's been way too long since you came down for a visit, you know."

Luna finally shifts her gaze to my companions. "Indeed. It is regrettable, but my royal duties have been keeping me rather occupied recently. I had been hoping to make a stop in Ponyville for a while now."

Twilight answers her "Of course, you're always welcome to visit anytime." Her smile drops just slightly now as she continues, "So, um, might I ask where Princess Celestia is?"

Luna glances back at me before answering her. "My sister is currently occupied with the day court. A particular case has taken longer than she was expecting, and she has asked me to entertain you for now."

Twilight and AJ both nod in answer, and I decide to speak up here. "Okay, so, um, what are we going to be doing?"

She looks me in the face again for several seconds before answering. Why does it feel like she is studying me? "I was thinking perhaps we could take a walk through the gardens. What say you?"

Of course I have no objections, so Luna leads us through one of the side doors down a long hallway. The three mares are just ahead of me, talking about something or other, though I'm more distracted with looking out the windows on one side of the hall, taking in the view outside.

As we continue walking, my view outside is obstructed with a large stained glass window instead of a normal clear one. I give it quick look before doing a double take at the intricate picture portrayed there.

Near the top, there are two very slender representations of what appear to be alicorns. One is white and standing near a picture of the sun, and the other is black and near an image of the moon. About halfway down the window, it seems to show some kind of battle between the two, with the lighter one blasting the dark one with a bright beam. Then near the bottom is a large picture of the lighter alicorn in front of a combination of both the sun and moon.

I stop in my tracks, mesmerized by the artwork here, and wondering exactly what it means. I don't notice that the conversation ahead of me dies off until I hear Luna's voice right beside me. "What do you think of it, Leon?"

I look to my side to see her standing right next to me, again wearing that small smile, with the two other mares right behind her, wearing neutral expressions. I bring my gaze back to the image before me as I answer. "It's… it's beautiful. But what does it mean? Does this represent some kind of war?"

Her eyes move to follow mine in looking at the window. "Of a sort, yes. This tells the story of my fall into the being called Nightmare Moon, and how my sister was forced to banish me."

Wow, I'd sort of forgotten about that. I remember I was wondering how that all was resolved, since she's obviously back to normal and everything. Well, I guess there'd be no better pony to ask, right? "Eh, would you mind if I ask something about that, Princess?"

"Of course not, but remember, please call me Luna."

I nod, but keep my eyes on the stained glass. "I was wondering… how did this end? I read you were transformed by some dark magic and emotions, but now you're back again. How did you return from being Nightmare Moon?"

She looks surprised at my question. "You don't know?" Without waiting for an answer, she turns to AJ and Twi. "You haven't told him?"

They both look a little embarrassed. AJ is rubbing the back of her neck with her forehoof, and Twi is grinning sheepishly. What's the problem here? Is this some important part of history that everyone here is supposed to know?

Luna brings her eyes back to meet mine. "Well, how about I just show you."

"Uh, sure, sounds good."

She motions me to follow her, and we continue down the hallway as she explains. "We commission these stained glass designs to help commemorate important events in our history, and we have them reproduced in several widows throughout the palace. I believe there is a copy of the one we are looking for just around the corner."

Sure enough, just a little bit farther and we come to another intricate window. "Wow…" This window is a bit more straight forward. It shows a dark blue and black alicorn near the top being engulfed in a large explosion of purple light. The light is being shot from the foreheads of six small ponies reared up on their hind legs.

The dark alicorn is obviously Nightmare Moon, but the six ponies also look familiar. There's a purple one, a yellow, a pink, blue with rainbow hair… wait, I've only seen one pony with that kind of mane. If that's Rainbow Dash, then… that would be Twilight there, and Rarity, Pinkie, Fluttershy, and finally AJ.

I turn around to face the two smaller ponies beside me. "Is this you?" They both give slightly shy nods, and I continue. "So what happened? How did you all defeat Nightmare Moon?"

Surprisingly, Luna is the one to answer. "It is quite the tale, and I'm sure they can tell you all the details sometime, but let me give you the abbreviated version. These six brave mares searched out the Elements of Harmony, the only weapons that would be able to defeat Nightmare Moon. They then used the power of their friendship to activate the elements and purify the dark magic from my mind."

"Wow… that's incredible. So you all are basically national heroes. Why didn't you girls tell me about this?"

AJ answers after a second or two. "Eh, well you know… it just never came up."

I facepalm at that, and Luna lets out a small giggle. "Yes, well now, how about we continue on to the-"

She's interrupted by one of the unicorn guards coming around the corner, carrying a small scroll in his magic. He walks purposefully up to the Princess and bows slightly as he passes the scroll to her. She accepts the message in her own aura before thanking and dismissing him.

She unfurls and reads the short note before speaking. "Ah, it would seem that my sister is ready to meet with you now. We shall have to see the gardens another day, I think. Follow me."

She takes the lead again and starts walking back the way we came, with Twilight just behind her. AJ and I are bringing up the rear, and I take the chance to whisper to her. "So, this is it, huh?"

She glances at me for a split second. "Yeah, I guess so. You nervous?"

"Eh, sort of. I mean, Luna's a princess too, and she's not too bad. Is there anything I should know about addressing the ruling Princess?"

Her eyes point upward for a few seconds as she thinks. "I don't think so. Just be yourself, and you'll be fine."

I nod in response and we just continue following Luna for a few minutes in silence. Eventually, we come to another large pair of ornate doors flanked on either side by more guards. They give a small bow before opening the doors, allowing us to enter.

Inside, I find that we are in some kind of grand hallway or atrium. There's a luscious red carpet leading down the room to a pair of golden looking thrones, and the room has large ivory colored pillars on both sides. Off to the right I see what must be the princess herself talking to a couple of ponies.

Luna starts walking toward her, and the rest of us follow. Hearing us approach, Celestia glances over her shoulder before she quickly dismisses the two ponies and turns to meet us. Now that we are within speaking distance I can get a good look at her as her sister moves to stand next to her.

The first thing I notice is that she is HUGE. I don't mean fat, just really freaking tall. As in, I think she is actually taller than me, before counting that two foot long horn. Similar to Luna, she has both a crown and a large necklace, though they are golden with inset purple gems. She also has the whole magical looking hair going on, though hers is colored a mixture of pastels, including pink, green and blue.

Her fur looks white at first, but with maybe has just a tinge of pink to it, and her cutie mark seems to be a stylized image of the sun. Her eyes are a soothing shade of pink, just slightly darker than her hair. Those eyes are staring right at me now as she takes a last couple steps towards us.

AJ breaks into a bow before her, which I follow with my own, but I'm surprised to see that Twilight just trots right up to her. "Princess Celestia!" she cries out as she reaches her. She arches her back up as Celestia bends down to give her an equine hug. They're both wearing warm smiles, which reminds me of how Twilight had said they are practically family.

"My faithful student, it's so good to see you again. I see you have brought your new friend as I requested. Ah, and Applejack, you were able to come as well, welcome."

AJ tips her hat slightly, "Thank you kindly, your highness."

Celestia stands back to her full height and Twilight takes a couple steps back. The Princess' eyes move back toward me as she continues. "So, Mr. Jefferson, I've been told that you are looking into how to get home."

Her expression is completely neutral as she says that, which seems a bit out of place with how happy she was just a moment ago. "Um, yes, I… I was…but…"

Twilight helps me out here. "What he means is that he was but has since changed his mind. He'd like to stay here in Equestria."

Celestia keeps her expression quite controlled, though her eyes do widen just slightly. "Really? Is this true, Mr. Jefferson?"

I drop my eyes downward. "Yes, it's true. I'd like to stay, if you'll let me."

She furrows her brow a bit and seems to be studying my face very closely. "Well, I certainly see no reason why you cannot stay, though I must ask what brought this on." Luna also looks very curious and is studying me as if the answers are written in small print on my face.

"Well, it's just… you have no idea how much better this place is compared to where I'm from. I've made more friends here in a week than I have in years back home. I… I just can't imagine being happier back there."

I finally bring my eyes back up to meet Celestia's, and I can see that she looks both pleased and a little sad. "Very good. I'm delighted to hear that, and you are very welcome to stay."

A large smile breaks across my face, and I feel AJ leaning into my leg with her side. I look down to see both her and Twilight smiling. At just above a whisper, AJ says, "Told you it'd be alright."

Before I can respond, Celestia continues. "However…" I bring my gaze back to her to see both her and her sister with serious expressions, as if they are not looking forward to something. "…I need to speak to you about something. I believe it would be best if this were done in private."

Twilight takes a half-step forward. "Is there something wrong, Princess?"

Celestia looks to her student with what should be a reassuring smile. "No, Twilight, not really. There is just something I need to tell Mr. Jefferson. I believe it is something that he should hear alone."

Luna speaks up for the first time through this whole conversation. "Come along, Twilight Sparkle, Applejack. Let us give my sister some time. Shall we go have some tea?"

She starts to walk slowly toward the exit, and the two smaller ponies, after each giving me another look, follow her out. I turn back to face Celestia, and she motions me over toward a bench near the wall. I take a seat, and she levitates a large cushion over from somewhere for herself. She drops it next to the bench and takes a seat, still propped up on her front legs.

With the way ponies keep most of their height when sitting, she's now towering over me. This would probably seem more intimidating if she weren't… you know… a giant pink and white pony princess.

Anyway, once we are both situated she looks me in the face. She's wearing that serious and slightly sad expression still. "So, Mr. Jefferson, tell me what you know of how you arrived in Equestria."

Huh, I though Twilight had already sent my story to her. "Uh, nothing really. I just… woke up here. I was sure at first that it was all a dream."

"Hmm. What is the last thing you remember from your world?"

I put one hand to my chin, thinking back. "I guess… it was going to bed. Then, next thing I know, I'm waking up under a tree." Why is she so interested in this?

She gives a slow nod. "I see…" She seems to think for a few seconds before going on "I have something to confess to you, Mr. Jefferson. It was I that brought you here."

"What?! How… why… why would you do that?"

"Let me explain, starting at the beginning. Several centuries ago, a friend of mine showed me how to look through the veil between worlds and view other dimensions."

Whoa, that's pretty serious. Wait, is she saying I'm not just from another world, but another dimension as well? I choose to hold onto my questions for now.

"Over the centuries, I explored with this ability, looking through many barren dimensions. However, about thirty years ago, I discovered… yours. I observed your species for many years before deciding to try and make contact."

Man, this is like every sci-fi fan's dream, being contacted by an outside race.

"So, I began the slow process of crafting my own spell for not only viewing through the veil, but also traveling past it. I also started searching your world for the ideal individual to contact first."

"Wait, and you chose me? Why? There have to be better qualified ponies, err, people for something as monumental as that."

She gains a warm smile here. "Believe me, I was very careful in my choice. I actually found you about ten years ago, and I observed you and many others for a long time. I was looking for an individual who would not only be open to meeting my little ponies, but would be able to appreciate our world and culture."

I guess she's correct there. With the kind of childhood I've had, it's probably easier for me to accept this than most others. Sometimes I have to remind myself how weird it is to be talking to magical ponies.

"About two years ago, I finally came to the decision that it would be you. However, I was still having trouble getting my spell to work. A few months later, though, I was blessed to have my sister back again, and I put this situation on hold for a while. Last year, I brought her in on this, and we started working together on the spell."

She loses her smile and looks straight ahead of her at this point. "As of about a month ago, I was comfortable that we had finally done it. My original plan had been to go through the veil myself and speak to you personally. We were just waiting for the right time, but…"

She looks like she might be on the verge of tears with whatever she is remembering now. "Something happened. I was passing the time observing your world again, and you were headed to your job in your automobile when… there was an accident."

I feel my stomach tighten a bit at what I think she is about to say. She does not take too long to confirm my suspicions. "You were hit by another driver on one of your 'highways', and your vehicle rolled several times. You were quite wounded and… dying."

I can feel my knuckles growing white from the tight hold I have on the bench underneath me. This is pretty heavy stuff she's telling me. "So, what happened?"

"Well, I sort of… panicked. My sister was not around to help me with the spell. Without somepony here to anchor me, I would not be able to come back, so I chose to try and pull you through."

She brings her gaze back to meet mine. "I'll admit that I had grown rather attached to you from watching you grow up, and the thought of you dying just… I couldn't let it happen. The problem is that the spell had been designed to be performed by both my sister and I. I struggled to do it myself, while at the same time trying to heal your wounds, for you were fading quickly."

"I… I felt that it was working, but then it just became too much for me. I lost my hold on you about halfway through the veil. I had… I'd thought for certain that I had lost you there. I was overjoyed to hear of your arrival from Twilight Sparkle, so I requested for you to come here."

I'm about to say something of my gratitude, but she continues, finally letting a couple tears fall. "There is still a problem though. In my rush to save your life, I… I shattered the veil around this world."

"Wait, what do you mean?"

"I mean, there is no way for you to ever visit your world again. The veil will heal eventually, but it could be anywhere from a century to many millennia." She droops her head down and closes her eyes, letting a few more tears drop. "I'm so sorry…"

I only think for a couple seconds before deciding on what to do. I lean over and wrap both my arms around her neck in a hug. She stiffens for a second, but then relaxes in my hold. "Princess Celestia, you have nothing to apologize to me for. You've honored me by choosing me as an interdimensional ambassador, saved my life, and brought me to this wonderful world. I've told you already that I don't want to go back, so don't you worry about that."

I can feel her lower her head over my shoulder as I continue. "You've… You've done more for me than anyone else in my entire life, and that was before we'd even met. Thank you. Thank you so much. You've proven yourself to be an amazing friend."

I hear her voice down by my ear. "Thank you. I don't deserve your praise, but I do appreciate it, Mr. Jefferson."

I chuckle a bit and pull myself back a bit to look up at her. "I think that after all you've done, Princess, you can just call me Leon."

She smiles and quickly wipes a tear from her cheek. "I'd like that. And… if we are friends now, you may call me Celestia."

Wow, royalty asking me to address her as a friend. "Okay… Celestia."

I finally let go of her and return to my seat. "So, um… where do we go from here?"

She glances over to me beside her. "That's up to you, most likely. I do have an offer to make, though. I'd like for you to join me here at the palace. After everything that's happened, I think it would be fair for me to take care of you."

That's quite an offer, being able to live with royalty. However… "Thank you, but I can't. I've made too many friends in Ponyville. I don't think I can leave there… if that's alright with you."

She smiles and gives me a nod. "Of course, I understand completely. I suppose this is one more reason for me to visit Ponyville more often then."

"I look forward to it, Princess… I mean, Celestia."

She smiles at my words, and then stands to her hooves. I rise too as she says, "Well, shall we rejoin your friends?"

"That'd be great."

She starts to lead me out of the throne room, and it's only a moment or two before we come to a comfortable looking sitting room. My two friends are seated next to each other discussing something, but they both look up as we enter. There's no sign of Luna around.

We quickly exchange greetings, and then the Princess invites us to a late lunch. As she leads us out of the room again, with Twilight next to her and AJ and I following behind, the cowpony whispers up to me, "So, everything is okay with you, right?"

I give her a broad smile before answering. "Yeah, everything's great, Applejack. I'm definitely here to stay."

She leans her head and neck into my side again as we continue walking. "That's great to hear, Leon. I was getting kind of worried there for a while."

I bring a hand up to rest it on her neck. "Heh, me too, actually. I'll, um, I'll fill you in on what she needed to speak to me about later, okay?"

She just nods in response, and we keep walking, following the other two in front of us. I take a quick moment to reflect on my circumstances. I'm glad that I'll be allowed to stay, but I'm not sure how to feel about this 'veil' thing being broken. I'm not really looking forward to informing the girls about my near death experience, either.

Oh, well, this trip was really enjoyable otherwise. I was able to see the capital city, I met (and befriended) the ruling Princesses, and I learned how I got to this land. Of course, by far the best part was learning that I will never, ever have to leave here.

Right?


	8. Chapter 8

Well, here it is, chapter eight. I have to apologize for the wait, I'm sorry. It can't be avoided though. I've lost access to my normal internet source and now the only way I can get online is to walk across town to a wifi café. (le sigh) Because of this, I can rarely get online, and I almost certainly won't be able to upload regularly. Again, sorry, but I'll continue trying to upload whenever I can.

Also, I'd like to clarify that this chapter is only the end of the introductory arc, not of the story. What does that mean? Not much, really. Mostly it's just how I have been mentally dividing the story up. One change after this chapter is that there will start being time jumps, as we'll no longer be going through every single day in-depth.

Well, enough from me. Enjoy.

Delta Alpha November. E: Thanks for the honest criticism. I've noticed what you mentioned about it being too fast, and it bothers me too. I'm not really sure how much I want to go back and edit large portions of the story so far, however. Ugh. I have to chalk my mistakes up to being a complete newb to writing (as this is my first attempt ever), and if I manage the motivation to start another story, I'll be certain to do things differently. I think I could have avoided a lot of the inconsistencies by simply starting out the story with the character having already been in Equestria for a while, but I don't know how much I like starting something like that. As for now, I'll just try to continue enjoying the writing and creating process in this story. Again, thanks for your input, it was totally not 'flaming,' and I really appreciate it.

Chapter 8:

I've gotta say, waking this morning isn't quite as nice as usual. Of course, the reason for this is obvious, as I note the lack of certain filly sleeping at my side today. We'd gotten home sort of late yesterday, and 'Bloom had already been asleep in her own bed by then.

As I slowly try to wake up fully, I mentally review what happened yesterday. Okay, I saw Canterlot for the first time, met Luna and Celestia, was allowed to stay in Ponyville. Then… the rest of the evening kind of passed in a blur. We spent a couple hours chatting with Celestia over a late lunch. When the Princess had to return to her duties, Twilight took us for a short tour of the city, and introduced us to her parents.

They'd been just as wonderful as I'd expected, considering Twilight's personality. Wait, should that be another ponified word? Like, ponyality? Never mind, moving on. Anyway, they had us stay for dinner, which put us returning to Ponyville later than we'd expected. I'd spent the first half of the train ride bringing my two friends up to date on everything Celestia had told me, and then for the second half, they told me their story of Nightmare Moon.

A pretty fantastical tale, I think. Normally, I would not have been willing to believe something so out there, but then I reminded myself that I was riding a magic powered train talking to magical technicolor ponies. That sort of put things into perspective.

Anywho, my point is that I'm waking up alone today. After a few minutes thinking, I drag myself out of bed and begin my morning ritual of washing up and getting dressed. Breakfast passes without much incident, mostly just rehashing the trip yesterday for both Granny and Applebloom, since Mac had been the only one awake when we returned yesterday.

Before too long, AJ and I are once again heading into the orchard for a normal work schedule. It's strange to think that just a couple weeks ago, I never would've imagined myself working on a farm, but now I'm really enjoying it. Compared to college classes, there's just something especially satisfying about good, productive, physical labor now.

We get through most of the job in the usual couple of hours. As we are heading back to the barn with the final load, I think over the fact that I don't really have any plans today. I mean, I want to see if I can start at Sugar Cube Corner today, but that won't probably take all day.

Looking over to the cowpony beside me, I decide to ask her if she's working the stall today, since Mac had to do it yesterday. Her answer is slightly surprising.

"Nope, Big Macintosh is gonna cover for me today."

"Really? Well, do you have plans this afternoon?"

She looks up to me with a slightly nervous expression. "Um, yeah, I have some… business to take care of today."

"Oh. Well, is it something I can help with?"

"I wish you could, Sugarcube, but it's something I have to do on my own. I'll tell you about it this evening though. Alright?"

She's looking at me with a hopeful smile, to which I can only respond with a grin of my own. "Yeah, it's fine. I'll find something to do, I'm sure."

As we near the house, we split off to our separate directions, with her to the barn and me to the house. I head upstairs and grab some clothes before hopping into the shower. That finished, I step into the hallway, wondering if there's anything I should do before heading to town.

I'm thinking for only a second or two before Applebloom walks out of her room wearing her saddlebag. That's a little strange, since she normally heads to school before now. "Hey, 'Bloom, you running late?"

She smiles and looks just a bit embarrassed. "Um, a little. I was a bit distracted reading a book."

"Well, you'd better scoot, then. Actually, mind if I walk you into town?"

Her face lights up with that. "That'd be great!"

"Well, then after you," as I gesture down the hall to the stairs.

We walk downstairs and out the door, calling out goodbyes to Granny Smith on the way. Once on the road, Applebloom looks up to me and asks, "So, um, what are you doing today, Leon?"

I intertwine my fingers up behind my head and lean back, looking at the sky. "Not much I guess. I'm gonna go speak to the Cakes about starting some work, but as for this evening, nothing much. How about you?"

I bring my gaze back down to her as she answers. "Eh, meeting up with Sweetie and Scootaloo, I think."

"Oh? Having a CMC meeting, huh? So would you girls mind if I join, then?"

Her eyes widen slightly as she responds. "Oh, uh… you probably don't want to do that. We're just gonna be doing homework. Reeeaaal boring stuff."

"I don't mind, 'Bloom. As long as I'm spending time with you and your friends, I'm sure it'll be a good time. Besides, maybe I could help you guys with that homework, right?"

"Um, no no no, I think we've got it today. No need to worry about us. Why don't you hang out with my sis this evening?"

I gain a slight frown as I continue to look at Applebloom. "I already asked her, actually, and she's busy too." I stop walking here and kneel down, placing one hand on Applebloom's head. "Is everything okay with you, Applebloom?"

She gives an overenthusiastic smile and a nod. "Everything's fine, I promise. It's just… uh… my friends wanted to do girl talk, so…"

'Girl talk'? Really? I can't say I imagined ever hearing Applebloom say something like that. I'm not sure if I believe her completely, but I can't really blame her for wanting some alone time with her friends, I guess.

"It's alright, 'Bloom, don't worry about it. I understand if you-"

Just then we hear the school bell ringing off in the distance. We stopped just on the outer edge of Ponyville, so the schoolhouse is still a good ways away. Applebloom jumps and looks a little panicked.

"Agh, that's the five minute bell! I'm gonna be late again!"

I try to give her a big smile. "Well, you're not late yet." I bend over and scoop her up, cradling her in my arms. "Lets go."

With that, I take off at a run, keeping a firm hold on the giggling filly in my arms. I go as fast as I safely can, which, considering my rather lacking physique, is not terribly fast. We get more than a few looks from the locals as we breeze down several streets.

Finally, the school comes into view, with just a couple last young ponies walking in the door. I pass the fence and come to a stop just outside the front door. I slowly lower Applebloom to the ground while gasping for breath. "Here… you go… Applebloom… have a… good day."

"Thanks a bunch, Leon. I really-" just then the bell starts again. "Whoops! See ya later!" With that, she spins around and sprints into the building, just before the final bell.

I let out a chuckle as I stand back to my feet. I take a minute regain my breath as I walk back to the schoolyard entrance. Man, a short run like that should really not be winding me that much. As I'm leaning against the fence, a voice behind me lets me know that I'm not the only one considering my lack of endurance.

"Hey there, Leon. So, heh heh, you run much?"

I turn around to see a smirking Rainbow Dash floating just in front of me. I've slowed my breathing enough to answer somewhat normally by this point. "Yeah, not really. Maybe I should, I guess."

She rolls her eyes at me. "Yeeeaahh, maybe. What was that all about, anyway?"

"Oh, just rushing Applebloom to class so she wouldn't be late, that's all."

"Aw, that's pretty big brotherish of you." She leans forward and starts to ruffle my hair, and I gently swat her hoof away.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. So where are you headed, Rainbow?"

She gives me a nonchalant shrug. "Meh, just to work. Gonna be in meetings all day planning out next month's weather. How 'bout you?"

I try to give a similar shrug. "Hopefully to work as well. I'm headed to Sugar Cube Corner."

She lowers herself to the ground and trots along as we both start walking down the street. "Oh yeah, I heard you were thinking of working there. Good luck with that. So, hey…" she looks me to with a somewhat analytical gaze. "…were you serious about needing to jog?"

"Eh, I don't know. I used to do some jogging in high school, but that was mostly for class requirements."

"Hmm. Well, I was thinking of adding some morning jogs as an extra part of my daily workout. Would you wanna join me?"

I put a hand to my chin to consider that. I know it's a really good way to stay fit, but dang, I'm really just too lazy for a regular commitment like that. "Maybe… I'll have to think about it, okay?"

"Aw, come on, it's not every day Equestria's number one flyer offers to help train somepony."

I smile as I bring my hand up to shield my eyes from the sun and pretend to scan the area. "Number one flyer, huh? Where is she? You think I could get an autograph?"

She gives me a good bump with her flank before taking to the air next to me again. "Not funny, Leon."

She not fooling me though, I can see the hint of a smile on her face. "I don't know, I thought it was pretty funny."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever." At this point SCC finally comes into view. Noting it, she turns to face me. "Well, I should probably get going. Good luck working with Pinks." I give her a wave as she starts to fly off, and I hear her yell, "And don't forget about my offer!"

With no other distractions, I walk in through the front entrance to SCC, letting out a soft sigh as I'm met with the aroma of sugary baked goods. This time, I do actually see Mrs. Cake behind the counter instead of the Pink wonder.

As I approach, she brings her attention to me and gives me a friendly wave in greeting. "Well hi there, Leon. Are you here for an early lunch?"

"Actually, Mrs. Cake, I was wondering about getting a job here. If you need the help, that is."

"Ah, that's right, Pinkie had mentioned that you'd be coming by for that. Well, I'm all for hiring you, but let me fetch my husband first. I'll be right back."

With that, she turns and heads into what I presume is the kitchen. With nothing else to do, I lean against the counter and look around the almost empty storefront. I guess it's a slow time of the morning, as there's just one couple at a table in the corner, quietly discussing something.

After a moment, I hear the kitchen door swing open again, and I turn back around to be greeted by a stallion that I've not met before. He has yellow fur, dark orange hair, and is wearing a white apron and a small white and red cap, the kind you might see at a family diner. He seems to be a bit taller than most ponies I've met, which makes him look kind of lanky and skinny.

As he walks up in front of me, he extends a hoof, which I awkwardly take in a hand/hoof shake. "So you're the Leon Jefferson that Pinkie has been telling me about."

"Yes sir, and you're Mr. Cake, right?"

"Right you are. So you're looking for some work?" I give him a nod. "Well, that sounds good to me. Any friend of Pinkie's is a friend of ours. You want to start now?"

I'm a bit taken aback by this. "Really? Just like that? You don't want to interview me or anything first?"

He shakes his head while wearing a casual smile. "Nope. I know that Pinkie likes you, my wife likes you, and you're friends with quite a few other ponies in town already, which makes you alright in my book. You look capable enough to pick up the job fairly easily, plus, Pinkie will be helping you the first few days."

"Well, uh, thanks, Mr. Cake. So, um, what should I…"

"Do? Well, if you're okay to start now, just head on back and find Pinkie. She'll get you sorted out."

"Ah, um, will do, then." I make for the door that the two of them came from a moment ago, and head on through. I have to say that was weirdly easy. I wonder if all businesses around here are that friendly.

Anyway, it looks like I was right that this was the kitchen back here. Looking around, I can see that there is large refrigerator, at least two stoves, and lots of counter tops and cabinets. There seems to be a door leading somewhere in the corner, while across the way there is an exit to the outside.

Of course, the most noticeable thing in here is the bright pink pony at the opposite corner. She's reared up on her hind legs and looks to be mixing something in a large bowl. Getting an idea, I walk up behind her as quietly as I can. After noting that she's not working with anything hot or sharp, I quickly bring my hands around and cover her eyes, letting out a "Guess who!"

"LEON!" she yells out as she leaps straight upward, spins around, and grabs me in a hug in mid-air, so that she's now hanging from me.

"Hi, Pinkie." I say as I pat her mane.

She lets go of her embrace and drops back to the floor, landing on all four hooves. "Hello, Leon! What are you doing back here? Don't you know this is an employees only area?"

It's funny how silly she manages to sound when trying to be half-way serious. "Well then, it's a good thing I'm an employee now."

Her eyes grow large at that and her smile somehow gets even bigger. "Really? You're working here now?"

"Yep, as of two minutes ago."

She looks like she's about to shout for joy, but then her pupils shrink and her smile fades. "Wait, you're starting TODAY? As in, 'today' today?"

"Uh, yeah? Is that a problem?"

She shakes her head for a second. "No-no-no-no-no, it's not a problem at all, it's just, um… It'll have to be a short shift today, since I have a personal project to take care of after lunch."

I give her a shrug. "That's fine by me. From what Mr. Cake was saying, you're basically my boss for now, so whatever you say goes."

She regains her giant smile at this point. "You're right! You're the trainee for now. Speaking of which, let's get to trainin'!"

Oh boy. The way she goes back and forth so quickly makes me wonder exactly how much sugar she eats here everyday. Anyway, she starts off showing me around the kitchen, pointing out the major appliances and where the various tools and utensils are stored. Then, it's a quick walkthrough of the storage room, which is what's behind that other door I saw earlier.

Back in the kitchen, Pinkie turns to face me. "Well, now that you've seen where everything is, I guess it's time to get started. You can help me finish up these cupcakes!"

She leads me over to the bowl that she was working on earlier, and walks me through the final few steps of preparation before she places the cupcake tray into one of the ovens. It all seems fairly straightforward so far.

With that done, she speaks up gain. "I think that it's time for you to get some practice of your own. Go wash up over there, and think on what your favorite flavor is!"

Huh? As I walk over to the sink and start thoroughly washing my hands and forearms, I don't have to think for long. "I've always been partial to the more citrusy flavors. Anything with lemon, orange, or lime is good with me."

"Okey-dokey, then," she says as she pulls a huge cookbook out from somewhere. She lays it on the counter and begins flipping through it furiously. After a few seconds, and as I walk over drying my hands on a towel, she stops on particular page with a flourish. "Ah-hah! Here we go. For your first solo job, I'd like for you to make this."

She points down to a recipe for a lemon flavored cake. It doesn't looks too complicated, but of course I don't have a ton of baking experience, so how would I know? "Okay, boss, if you say so."

She smiles at the title, before turning to work on something else across the kitchen. I carefully read over the instructions and ingredients before heading to the store room to gather what I'll need. I have to ask Pinkie a couple times for particular things that I can't find, but she's happy to help.

After about fifteen minutes, I finally have everything together, and I start adding the ingredients together in a large mixing bowl. To my credit, I only get a couple small pieces of egg shell in there, and I manage to get those out before losing them. Once it's all mixed and the pan is prepped, I'm about to start pouring it in when Pinkie stops me.

She shows me here how instead of buttering the pan evenly, you actually want to have a lot extra near the middle, since that's where the cake will tend to stick the most. That fixed, she observes as I carefully pour the batter in and place the cake in the oven after double checking the temperature and setting the timer.

Once it's finally in, she jumps up and waves her front hooves in the air. "Whoo-hoo, good job, Leon! I wish things had gone that smoothly my first time in the kitchen."

Yeah, I don't even want to imagine that one. "Thanks, Pinkie. So, um, what's next?"

She leads me over across the kitchen and has me help her with a couple different orders they've received this morning. I then get to work on cleaning the dishes we've already accrued thus far, while she does some inventory checking. In this way, we pass another forty minutes before the timer for that cake finally goes off.

Pinkie is the one to carefully pull it out of the oven. As she does so, I have to resist moaning from the scent. It smells amazing, and I find it hard to believe that I actually made something like that.

She gives it a quick inspection, including the famous 'toothpick test,' before she turns to face me. "Looks great, Leon! Sadly, this'll need to cool for a while, and I should get going soon. We'll have to taste test it some other time. If you want, I'll take care of this and you can head on out for the day."

I'm a little disappointed to not try that cake after smelling it, but I'm mostly surprised that we're already done. I've only been here a couple hours. "Really? You're sure there's nothing else I can do today?"

She gives me a shake of her head. "Nopey-dopey. I've got to go work on my project, and you probably should not be working on your own back here yet. Don't want you burning the place down!" She says that last part with a goofy grin on her face.

I let out a defeated sigh, knowing she's right. "Okay, okay, I'm going."

As I make for the door, she calls out, "Don't forget to talk to the Cakes for your pay, Leon! I'll see you later!"

Walking back into the front room, I see Mrs. Cake behind the counter again. No sign of Mr. Cake though. I approach her and say, "Hey, Mrs. Cake. Pinkie says we're done for today, so I'm heading out."

"Oh, alrighty, dear. Hold on just a moment." She ducks down behind the counter and comes up with a small sack, from which I can hear the jingling of bits. "Now, my husband and I decided that we'll start you off with five bits an hour. Sound alright to you?"

I answer as she starts to count out my pay. "Whatever you think is fair. You're the boss."

She giggles as she finishes counting out twelve bits. For just under two and a half hours, it looks good to me. I pour them into my pocket, thank her for the work, and finally walk out the front door. Of course, she manages to have me take a couple free cupcakes as I go, refusing me when I offer to pay for them. Oh well.

Okay, so here I am, just as I was hoping to not be this afternoon. Work finished even earlier than I was expecting, and I have nothing to do. AJ is busy, 'Bloom is in school, Mac is working… I like Granny Smith, but I don't think I want to spend the evening canning and napping. I suppose I can go see what Twilight is up to.

With that thought in mind, I start the trek across town to the library, munching on my snack of cupcakes. The walk is fairly uneventful overall. I do catch a glimpse of Lyra at one point, walking and talking with another pony that has blue and pink hair, though this was from a distance, and Lyra does not catch sight of me. With the weird way she has treated me so far, I'm not sure if I'm happy about that or not.

Moving on. I eventually reach the Golden Oaks Library and casually walk up to the door. Being used to just walking in by this point, I grab the doorknob as I make a move to walk through, and I end up bonking my face on the door. Huh. I think this is the first time I've seen any place in Equestria locked.

Rubbing my forehead where I hit the door, I take a step back and knock. When there's no answer after several seconds, I knock again, though this time much louder. I wait several seconds more before backing up and looking up at the building. Hmm, I don't see any lights on, so I guess she is out somewhere with Spike.

Well, there's goes that plan. Today is just really not working out for me when it comes to friends, it seems. I'm leaning against the building thinking over what else I could do when I hear someone call out my name.

"Oh, Leon darling! What are you doing out here?"

I look toward the source of the sound to see Rarity and Fluttershy approaching, each wearing a saddlebag. I kneel down to greet them at eye level. "Hey, girls. Well, I WAS looking for Twilight, but I think she is out or something. What are you two up to?"

Rarity flips her mane out of her face casually as she answers. "Dear Fluttershy and I were just returning from the market. Picking up a few supplies, you know. Right, Fluttershy?"

Fluttershy gives the tiniest of nods and a very quiet "Oh, yes, we were."

Rarity continues, "As for Twilight Sparkle, I do believe she mentioned something about… being busy… for all of today."

"Man, that just seems to be the story for everypony today. Is there something going on that I should already know about?"

Rarity gains a nervous smile, and Fluttershy dips her head, hiding most of her face behind her mane. After a quick glance between the two of them, Rarity answers. "No, no, I don't believe there is, Darling. It's just, er, one of those days, you know. Busy, busy, busy! Speaking of which, I myself have a couple orders that I need to finish up today, so I should be going as well. However…" she brings her gaze around to Fluttershy at this point. "… I do believe Fluttershy was JUST telling me how she has nothing to do, hmm?"

Fluttershy gives her a confused expression before receiving a light rump bump from the other mare. She then shakes her head slightly and nods in agreement. "Oh, yes, nothing to do. Um, if you'd like, you could come and visit with me, Leon."

Yeah, something is obviously going on here. I don't know if all my friends being busy are related, but there is certainly something that I am not supposed to know about. Oh well, maybe it's just a pony thing. Anyway… "Sure, Fluttershy, that sounds great."

She gains a wide smile and Rarity gives a satisfied nod. "Well then, dears, like I said, I should really be going. Ta ta for now!" And with that she is gone, headed down the street.

"Hmm. Okay then, lead the way, Fluttershy."

She nods in agreement and turns to walk away, and I fall into step beside her. "So, what kind of things were you getting at market, Fluttershy?"

"Oh, well, it was mostly Rarity who needed to go shopping, and I was just spending some time with her. I took the opportunity to pick up some treats for my bunny's dinner, though."

Huh, this is the first I've heard of her having a specific pet. "You have a pet rabbit?"

She brightens up and gives me a big smile. "Oh yes, Angel Bunny is his name. He's just the sweetest little thing… Well, usually at least."

We pass the rest of the walk with her telling me about her pet and some of other animals that live with her, though she clarifies that that is of their own choice. Angel is the only real pet she has.

Before too long, we finally arrive. Coming around the final bend, I see what has to be Fluttershy's house. Although, I'd have to call it more of a cottage or something. It's pretty much the very epitome of nature, as far as I can see. The building is made from wood and cobblestone, with a grassy, slanted roof, and there are flower beds all the way around the building.

There are also a TON of animals running around the yard, all kinds it looks like. Of course, as we get closer, most of them scatter at the sight of me. Once we are in front of the door, Fluttershy apologizes. "I'm sorry, Leon, they're just not used to you yet."

I give her a soft pat on the top of her head before getting the door for her. "Don't sweat it, Fluttershy, I sort of expected that."

She leads the way into the house, and I follow behind her. The living room in front of me is as homey and comfortable looking as possible, though it is a little weird how the ceiling is practically lined with bird houses.

She points a hoof toward the couch, and says, "Make yourself at home, Leon. I'll be right back with some refreshments."

I take a seat, trying to get comfortable on the as usual too short furniture while Fluttershy trots out through one of the doors. I'm sitting there for a minute taking in the environment when I notice something on the stairs.

It seems to be a small white rabbit with beady black eyes. Probably Angel, if I had to guess. He has stopped halfway down the steps and is giving me the stink-eye. I'm about to say something to him when he suddenly takes off down the stairs and shoots through the same door that Fluttershy left through. Hmm.

It's another couple of minutes before Fluttershy returns. She's carrying a small tray in her forehooves, floating along with her wings beating almost silently. I stand up to accept the tray from her and place it on the small table before us. I retake my seat while she settles in beside me.

"Thank you for the help, Leon."

I take one of the cups and start pouring from the pitcher into it. Huh, looks like some kind of juice. I pass her the cup before pouring for myself. "No problem. So, what'd you want to do, Fluttershy?"

"Oh, nothing really. I was just hoping to catch up, that's all. Seems like I haven't seen you in a while."

"Hmm, yeah, sorry about that. Just a lot going on, I guess." I feel kind of bad now that I think about it. "But I'm here now. So where do you want to start?"

She rubs her front hooves together for a moment before answering. "Let's see. Um, Twilight mentioned that you met the princesses. How did that go?"

And so we pass the time. First I tell her all about the trip to Canterlot and meeting the royals. She's particularly excited to hear about me gaining permission to stay in Equestria. I then ask her to tell me about herself, and she goes on to explain about her childhood in Cloudsdale, and about how she and Rainbow Dash met as fillies.

We go back and forth like this for a while, having a good time and sharing a few laughs. At some point, Angel even sneaked back out to take a seat by his caretaker, though he continues to give me an evil look the whole time. Fluttershy is in the middle of telling me about when she first moved to Ponyville when she glances at the clock on the wall and gasps.

I take another sip of my drink before speaking. "What's up, 'Shy?"

She glances between myself and the clock several times. "Well, um, it's just, um, I'm supposed to be somewhere soon."

I take a look at the clock myself and am surprised to see that it's been almost three hours already. Time flies when you're with a friend. "I'm so sorry, Fluttershy, I didn't mean to distract you for this long. You probably have things to do on your own, right?"

She leans her head forward so that her mane is covering the majority of her face again. "Actually, I was wondering if, uh, you might come with me?"

Placing my cup on the table and standing up, I brush myself off. "Sure, I've got nothing going on. Where to?"

She hops to her hooves before the couch after giving Angel a quick nuzzle. "I need to… er… I, uh…" She seems to be struggling to decide on what she wants to say. Suddenly, her face lights up with realization. "I need to pick something up from Sugar Cube Corner! That's right."

I raise an eyebrow at that. "Really? Why didn't you do this when you were shopping earlier?"

"It's… a special order. I had to wait for Pinkie to finish first."

Ah, okay, this sort of makes sense now. That would explain this 'project' that Pinkie had. She just wanted to devote herself to an order from her friend. I'm distracted from my musings by a question from the mare before me. "Um, I was wondering if you could help me carry it. If you don't mind, that is."

I give her smile and step toward the door. "Of course I don't mind, 'Shy. Though, I should probably be getting home after this. Shall we?"

She nods and follows me out the door. We make our way back to Ponyville, making small talk along the way. She's telling me all about some sort of 'butterfly migration' that she got to attend recently when the bakery in question finally comes into view.

"Ah, there it is. Hmm, that's weird though. It looks closed." It's true, all the windows are dark, and with the sun rapidly approaching the horizon, I can't make out anything inside. "Are you sure she's expecting you?"

"Oh yes, definitely."

We walk up to the door, and I give it a tentative push. It's unlocked and slides open easily, though I don't see any sign of activity inside. Fluttershy speaks up before I can ask another question here.

"I'm thinking that Pinkie is in her room upstairs."

I turn back to face her. "Are you sure it's alright to go up there?"

"I'm pretty sure. Follow me."

She slips in front of me through the door and trots up the stairs. I don't hear anything or see any lights come on up there, so I'm not sure how she can find her way around up there. Waiting a couple seconds, I decide to do as she says and follow her up.

When I reach the top of the stairs, I can't see anything around me, with the light from below quickly drowning in the darkness here. I feel along the wall near here for a light switch, but of course I don't find one.

"Fluttershy? Pinkie Pie? Where'd you go?"

I try to take a careful step forwards, but I quickly end up smashing my foot against something. An "Aw, dang it!" escapes my mouth as I grab my foot in my hands instinctively.

At just that second, the lights all come on suddenly and I hear a huge chorus of "SURPRISE!" from all around me. With the blinding light and my awkward stance, I find myself off balance before tumbling backward, almost going down the stairs. There're several yelps from the room in front of me, and a couple pairs of hooves are quick to help me back to my feet.

With the initial shock over with, I can take a clearer look around the room now. A smile grows over my face as I realize that this is some kind of party, and I'm obviously the guest of honor. The room is filled with grinning or chuckling ponies after my little act there. The second floor of SCC seems to be mostly one large room, with a couple doors off across the way.

As for the ponies here, it seems to consist of pretty much everyone I've met thus far. There's Twilight, Spike, Rarity, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Pinkie, the Cakes, the CMC (all decked out in their capes), the Apple family, and even Lyra.

I look between Applejack and Rainbow, the two that had helped me back up, and ask, "What is this? What's going on?"

AJ pats my side and says, "I'd think that'd be obvious, Sugarcube. It's a party."

"Well, yeah, I can see that, but what for?"

Pinkie now bounces up to in front of me smiling and talking a mile a minute. "Well-I-never-got-to-throw-you-a-welcome-to-Ponyville-party-and-we-also-wanted-to-celebrate-your-big-news-from-yesterday-so-I-decided-to-call-it-your-Welcome-to-Equstria-party! Were-you-surprised-huh-huh-huh-were-you-huh?"

I place one hand on her head now to keep her from bouncing, and her big eyes come up to meet mine. "Yes, Pinkie, I was really surprised. So surprised in fact, that I think you almost killed me there. Thanks for setting this up." Then, looking around to all the smiling faces, "And thank you all for coming."

Somehow, Pinkie's smile gets even bigger, and she hops to her hind legs with a loud "Whoo-hoo!" Then from somewhere in the back, some catchy music starts to play and she calls out "Let's get this party started!"

With a round of laughter and agreement all around, the ponies turn to each other and start to mingle. With that finally done, I can take a minute to take in the room. It's definitely not a bedroom, so I'm guessing Pinkie lives behind one of those doors over there. This large room seems to be empty of normal furniture, making me think that it's used solely for get-togethers like this one.

Off against one wall, there are a couple tables filled with all sorts of snacks and a large punch bowl. In the corner, I can see the source of the music, a large, somewhat comical looking phonograph, next to a small shelf filled with records. Along another wall, there seems to be some kind of large tub filled with water, and on the wall itself, there's a dartboard and… oh god, is that actually 'pin the tail on the pony'?

I'm trying to control my snickering when I feel a tug at my pants leg. I look down to see three familiar fillies all looking up at me. I kneel down and give each of them a mane ruffling as I speak. "Hi, girls. So, is this the homework and girl talk I heard about?"

Applbloom gives a sheepish grin. "Not exactly. Sorry about that, but I had to keep the surprise a secret."

"Don't sweat it, 'Bloom. I-"

"Ooh, Leon!" Sweetie's higher than usual voice interrupts me. "We made you something! You want to see it?"

I glance to the other two to see them wearing similarly excited facial expressions. "Yeah, sure girls, sounds good."

With a slight squeal, the three of them run off, capes flapping, to get whatever it is. Looking around, I see that Rainbow has disappeared, but Applejack is still at my side. Still on one knee, I say to her, "So how long were you all planning this?"

"Oh, you know, a few days. Pinkie was looking forward to this from the day you two met, but I asked her to hold off until things were… settled."

I bring a hand up to rest on her mane. "Well, thanks. It really does mean a lot to me."

"Anytime, Sugarcube."

We're interrupted by… something's making its way over to us. It's some kind of large white mass with three lumps underneath. Once it gets closer, the lumps shift around until three filly faces are poking out from under the front edge.

"Here you go, Leon. Check it out!" I hear from Scootaloo.

Smiling, I reach down and pick up what is apparently a very large piece of paper that they have on their backs. It's about four feet on each edge, and holding it up at arm's length shows that the underside is decorated.

I gotta say, it's pretty heart-warming. It depicts the three cutie mark crusaders and myself wearing our capes and striking heroic poses. In the background is depicted the CMC headquarters and several apple trees. The entire picture is outlined in a large heart made of differently colored sparkles, and at the top is the phrase 'Crusaders Forever!'

I hear Scootaloo's voice next. "So what do you think? Pretty Awesome, huh?"

I look back down to the three of them and answer. "This is great, thanks girls."

At that, they each throw one hoof in the air and shout out "Cutie Mark Crusader Welcome Card Makers!" before looking down to their flanks. They then each gain a look of disappointment at their still blank flanks.

I start to carefully roll the large card up as AJ and I chuckle. "Sorry girls, maybe next time."

AJ apparently knows how to cheer them up. "Aw, come on girls. How about we go get some sweets, huh?"

There's a round of agreement before the four of them head off toward the snack table.

"Oh yeah, you doing presents already, Leon? Well, I'm totally next."

A look beside me reveals Rainbow Dash has returned, and she's holding a rolled up paper of her own. As she holds it out, I accept it and ask, "What, did you draw a picture for me too, Dashie?"

Floating in front of me, she crosses her front hooves and lets out a small raspberry. "Pffft, just open it, would you?"

Carefully holding the CMC drawing under my arm, I use both hands to remove the rubber band from Dash's present and then unfurl it. I'm not real certain what it means though. It seems to be a poster depicting three pegasi in blue and yellow flight suits zipping through the sky and leaving smoke trails. At the bottom in large letters, it says 'Wonderbolts.'

"Um, thanks, Rainbow. But what is this? What's a wonderbolt?"

She looks shocked that I don't already know. "What's a wonderbolt?! Come on, they're only the best of the best primo trick flyers in all of Equestria! One day, I'm gonna join em!"

She strikes a vaguely militaristic salute during that last statement.

"Heh, well with your speed and skills, I'm sure you'll have no problem getting in."

"You know it! Now if you'll excuse me, there's some cider calling my name." With a lick of her lips and a small rainbow trail, she zips off across the room. Now with both posters rolled back up and the larger one from the CMC rubber banded, I walk over to a table with some empty space and set both on the top of it.

A look around the room shows that all the ponies are starting to have fun. I see AJ and RD across the room working on a large wooden keg, presumably the apple cider. Pinkie, Mrs. Cake, Spike, and the fillies are dancing over in a large cleared out space near the phonograph. Some small icing smears on the fillies faces shows that they are probably already getting hyped up on sugar.

Speaking of which, I could go for a snack myself at this point. Walking over to another table, I give a quick scan over what's available. Looks like what I would expect from Pinkie. We have cupcakes, brownies, punch, a bowl of assorted candies, and… a large orange cake. At least, the icing is orange, but the inside is yellow as I can see from where a couples slices are taken. Hmm. A quick sniff reveals that it's lemon cake with sherbet icing. Wow, did she really have me make the cake for my own party? Sneaky, sneaky.

Well, after loading up a small plate with some cake and a brownie, I turn around to try to find someone to talk to, though I don't search long. Right in front of me is a smiling Twilight, levitating her own plate of snackage.

"Hello, Leon. So what do you think of your party?"

"Hi, Twilight. Um, it's great. I can't remember the last time anypony did something like this for me. Actually… is this what you were doing all day?"

She gives a nod. "Rarity told me about meeting you at the library. Yes, I was helping with decorations and with tracking down the last couple ponies who hadn't heard about this yet." She takes a bite from her cake at this point. "I want to go ahead and say, Leon, I'm really glad that you're here to stay. I know everypony here is, too."

I lean down a bit and rest a hand on the top of her head. "Thanks, Twilight. I'm glad too. It's good to know that I already have so many good friends here. I think I'm going to be very happy living in Ponyville."

She gives me a big smile before placing her plate on the table nearby. Her horn stays lit up though, and I notice something floating toward us from across the room. "On that note, I'd like to give you something, Leon."

As the object floats closer, I rub the back of my neck. "You all really did not need to get me presents, Twilight. The party is plenty."

She gives a small nod as the object now floats between us. It's a small rectangular package wrapped in brown paper with a bit if twine holding it together. "I figured you would say that. I told everypony it would not be necessary, but that they could if they wanted. And well… I wanted to get you something so…"

The package hovers closer to me and I accept it my free hand. I take a second to empty my other hand by placing my plate down as Twilight's starts to float again. Now with both hands free, I carefully unwrap the object to reveal… a book. That's appropriate.

"'Everything you ever wanted to know about Equstrian Culture, but were afraid to ask.' Huh, thanks Twilight."

"You're very welcome. This will hopefully help you to get more acquainted with some of the local customs. I know you've felt a little… lost… with the way we do some things."

Walking over to the table where I had placed the two posters, I give her nod. "Yeah, I'm sure this'll be handy. Thanks again."

Now finished with her plate, Twilight floats it over to the table again. "Hey, would you like to dance, Leon?"

My eyes grow a little wide at that. "Ah, I'm not sure that'd be a good idea. I've never been much of a dancer."

She gains a smile as she grabs my hand in her magic and starts pulling me over toward the dancing ponies… and Spike. "Perfect, I'll teach you then. I happen to be a pretty good dancer, I think."

"You think?"

She gives me a look here. "Nevermind that. Just follow my lead, alright?"

"Whatever you say, I guess."

With that we pass the next half hour messing around on the dance floor. Turns out that Twilight is pretty hilarious when she tries to dance, but I'm sure that I'm just as funny looking. We have a ton of fun anyways, and there are plenty of laughs. Some of the others join in as well, including AJ, Mac, Dash, and Mr. Cake. Somehow we start off this weird contest to see who has the most ridiculous dance moves, which quickly turns into a dual between Pinkie and Rainbow.

There's no telling who actually won, but after a couple of impossible looking moves from Pinkie and a dumbfounded look from RD, everyone just breaks up in laughter. I take this opportunity to step away and get a drink, alongside several others, though Pinkie and Dash seem determined to continue their competition on their own.

I end up talking to Mr. Cake for a while about the new job, but we are interrupted when Rarity walks over and clears her throat. "Ahem. Mr. Cake, would you mind terribly if I borrow dear Leon for a moment?"

He lets out a small chuckle. "Not at all, go ahead."

She gives him a happy nod before motioning me over toward one side of the room, where I see Fluttershy standing by herself. It looks like she has some kind of gift bag on her back, if the balloon and confetti print design is any indication.

"So what's up, Rarity?"

Now that the three of us are standing together, she turns back to face me. "Well, I was just hoping to give you this present. Both Fluttershy and I have been working on it, and we're wanted to see your reaction. So, if you please."

Fluttershy gives a nod and lean sideways a bit to offer me the bag on her back. Taking it in hand, I peer inside. I can see some kind of cloth material, so I'm guessing it's more clothing. My suspicion is confirmed as I pull it out and unfold the garment.

It looks to be a large jacket. The overall design reminds me of this old Carrhart that I used to have, what with the slightly tougher material and the darker accents around the collar and sleeves. However, on the back, there seems to be a rather artsy design. It's a bit of a minimalist drawing of a large pair of wings, being mostly a soft golden color with a few red and orange markings.

"Wow, this look great, you two. Thanks a bunch."

Fluttershy gains a large eager smile and Rarity beams with pride. "You're quite welcome, Darling. We thought that, with autumn quickly approaching, you might need something of this sort soon. With you working on the Apple farm, we tried to keep the overall design somewhat… hardy… though Fluttershy came up with the design for the back."

Folding the jacket over one arm, I look down to the yellow and pink mare. "Really? It's beautiful, thanks, Fluttershy."

She shifts her face to behind her mane, though I can still make out the large smile she is wearing. "It was my pleasure, Leon. I just… I thought that the picture really suited you."

Kneeling down, I lean a bit toward her. "I think so too. Again, thank you." With that, I offer my arms out and she is quick to take me up on a hug. After a couple seconds. I stick one arm out and motion to Rarity, who was watching with a somewhat giddy expression. "Come on Rarity, you too."

She tries to give a roll of her eyes, but it's obvious she does not mind as she approaches and joins in on the hug. After a few seconds of this, we hear a small voice from below.

"Hey got room in there?" Looking down reveals the three CMC members with expectant looks on their faces. Well, except Scootaloo, who looks a bit embarrassed by this. Makes sense, since she has a bit of a tomboy outlook on life. I give them a nod, and Applebloom climbs up into the crook of my arm while Sweetie Belle hops up onto her sister's back and nuzzles her.

Okay, this is getting a little full now. I'm about to let go and break it up when I hear a familiar cowgirl yell out, "Hey, save some for us!"

Well, here comes AJ and Twilight cantering over to find a place in this quickly growing group hug. The cuteness is definitely reaching some extremes here, but I find it difficult to resist this happy feeling that I'm getting. It's like this is some kind of definite reminder of the new friends in my life.

Next I feel somepony hop up and wrap their hooves around my shoulders and neck. The mint green color makes it pretty obvious who this is, but I'm interrupted by a yell before I can say anything.

From across the room, I hear a familiar pink pony yell out at the top of her lungs, "Pony pile!" I have a split second to wonder what that means before I see both Pinkie and Rainbow Dash galloping over with huge grins on their faces. They both jump at full force into this crowd of hugs we have going on, and there's a chorus of whoah's and aaahh's as everypony starts to lose their balance.

After a couple seconds of teetering around, the whole group falls to the ground in a sea of legs, hair, and way too much laughing. I get more than one hoof in the stomach as we all struggle to disengage ourselves. Each one slowly makes it back to their hooves (feet in my case) and we all share a laugh and give some playful shoves to Rainbow and Pinkie.

From there, the party continues. I have a great time talking, dancing, playing games, eating, and even some singing, but mostly I'm just overwhelmed with how fantastic it is to have friends like these.

At some point, Granny Smith left with the fillies, as it's getting pretty late. Later, I notice Spike practically falling asleep on his feet, so I start suggesting that we wrap this up soon. After a while, everypony starts making their way to the door, many with a last snack in hoof for the walk home.

I make sure to take time to say farewell to each one as they leave, and eventually, it's just Pinkie, Mac, AJ and myself left. We offer to help Pinkie with the cleanup, but she insists that she'll handle it tomorrow and ushers us out the door. With all the fun we'd had, I'd almost forgotten that she actually lives here, so she doesn't have to walk anywhere. Hmm, I wonder how Pinkie is going to "clean up" all the leftovers. Hmm hmmm hmmm.

Well, the two Apple ponies and myself start our trek back to the farm, with me carrying the few gifts I'd received. They spend the time telling me about several of Pinkie's other parties that they've seen, though of course Mac lets his sister do most of the talking.

It does not seem like too long before we are finally walking in the front door. Heading to the dining room, I drop off the gifts. I'm about to ask them if they have any tape for these posters, but AJ speaks up first.

"Hang here for a moment, Leon. I need to go get something." Before I can respond, she is headed up the stairs.

I glance over to Big Macintosh, who has his usual relaxed expression on. "You know what she's doing, Mac?"

"Eeyup."

"But you're not going to tell me, are you?"

"Nnope."

I smile to myself as we wait there for another moment. Eventually, I hear those hooves coming back down the stairs again, and AJ comes trotting into the room with something draped over her back.

"I hope you don't mind that it's not wrapped, but I've never been real good at that sort of thing."

There's something long and relatively thin draped over her back. As she approaches, she motions with her head for me to take it. After picking it up and bringing it up to my eye level, I realize what it is.

Of all things, it's a belt. I'm tempted to chuckle at the randomness of this. It looks like a nice, thick, dark brown leather belt. Well, probably not real leather, as that would be really weird coming from ponies. What takes me a second to notice, however, is the buckle. I bring it up to near the window for more lighting, as we are still standing in the semi-darkness, so as not to wake Granny or the fillies up the stairs.

The buckle is built in the shape of a large, bright red apple. It's made from some kind of thick but light metal, and it looks to be lined around the edges with something that shines out with a bright silver sheen, even in the relative darkness here. It's really just… "Beautiful. This is amazing, you two. Thanks so much."

AJ answers. "You're welcome, Leon. We had this commissioned because we wanted you to have something to help identify you as part of the family."

Part of the family? Wow, this… this just got even more special to me. I'm about to start letting them know how much that means to me, when Big Mac speak up with probably the first joke I've ever heard from him.

"But mostly it's just to help keep your britches up."

There's a few seconds of silence before the randomness of his comment makes us all burst out laughing. Eventually, we each calm down and start heading upstairs, with me once again carrying my small treasure trove. At the top of the stairs, Big Mac, gives us each a nod before heading off to his room.

"Hey, Leon, let's take a peek at the fillies real quick, eh?"

"Sure, sounds good." Apparently, Granny was just taking the three of them here to sleepover instead back to their houses.

I lean forward as AJ gently pushes open the door to Applebloom's room, trying to get a clear look inside.

"What the…" I hear from the mare beside me.

The bed is empty. Hmm, I wonder where… oh, wait a second. "I bet I know where they are, AJ." I lead her down the hall and motion for her to get my door, since my hands are still full. Sure enough, as the door swings open, the three sleeping fillies are revealed to be all snuggled up in my bed.

We walk into the room, with me heading to the dresser and AJ taking a few steps toward the bed. I hear her whisper over to me, "Aww, ain't they the cutest little bed thieves you ever did see?"

I try my best to suppress the chuckle at her comment as I start placing my gifts on top of the dresser. That done, I walk back over to the bed and sit down on the floor beside AJ, right next to the bed.

On the side nearest me, I see 'Bloom flopped out with her hooves going every which direction. Next to her, in the middle, is Scootaloo, who's snoring not so quietly. On the far edge, I can see Sweetie, who has a small snot bubble slowly inflating and deflating with her breathing. Even in the darkness, I can still make out a few icing smears across their faces, looking sort of like some kind of messy war paint.

The answer comes easily to me. "Yep, the cutest I've ever seen."

I place one arm on the beds edge and place my chin down on it, staring at the three sleeping forms before me. I feel AJ snuggle up against me a little and place her head down on the bed near mine, also watching the fillies.

We just sit there for a long time, watching their little faces, and me trying to not think about how I'm going to be sleeping on the floor tonight.

No, instead I'm thinking on this day. It hadn't started out too great, but now I think I can safely say that it has been one of the greatest of my life. I'm so glad I decided to stay here, since now I can't imagine being anywhere else but right here, right now, with this new… family.


End file.
